In a short meeting last night, Graduate Student Council (GSC) members discussed the Honor Code survey now circulating among students ahead of today’s Faculty Senate meeting, as well as ASSU updates, event announcements and legislative action on clarifying constitutional policy.
With regard to the Honor Code survey sent to students on Jan. 31, co-chair Eric Osborne, a law student, said the survey was designed to help ASSU leaders understand students’ perceptions of the code. He said that in 15 hours, he received 262 grad student responses and 600 undergraduate student responses.
The survey found that approximately 62 percent of graduate students would turn a cheating student in. Generally, the survey seemed to support that students take the Honor Code seriously, with the majority of students ranking its seriousness between three and five on a scale of one to five, Osborne said.
The Faculty Senate is set to hear the survey results and discuss the honor code Thursday afternoon.
The group also heard funding requests from several student groups. GSC members approved $1,750 for the Stanford Taiwanese Students Association, $2,500 for the Educational Studies Program, $150 for Spicmacay, $1,700 for the Hindu Students Association and $1,250 for the Reformed University Fellowship at Stanford.
ASSU President David Gobaud, a co-terminal student in computer science, went on to discuss the upcoming Wellness Week, which he said would attempt to help students relieve stress and take care of their health.
Additionally, the tentative date for FutureFest, an ASSU-sponsored green sustainability summit, has been set for April 17. Gobaud has touted the upcoming event as one of the centerpieces of his tenure as student body president.
Past constitutional issues about the process of appointing a member to the ASSU executive cabinet also drew discussion. During fall quarter, Gobaud’s attempted appointment of Farah Abuzeid ’10 as co-chief of staff failed amid questions from the student body legislature about his authority to make such an appointment. The chief of staff position is paid.
After a short discussion of whether or not to amend the bylaws through legislation, members settled on having Gobaud bring it to the ASSU Constitutional Council.
Elections Commissioner Quinn Slack ’11 announced several upcoming information sessions designed to explain elections and special fees policy. The deadline for special fees group requests is Feb. 19.
Co-chair Nanna Notthoff, a second-year graduate student in psychology, gave an update about additional charges from the recent Masquerade Ball. The council was charged an extra $805 for requiring additional security officers and an undetermined amount for cleaning charges by the Alumni Center.
“[The Alumni Center] is probably less open to holding large student events there in the future and allowing red wine at these events,” Notthoff explained.
Notthoff announced that Provost John Etchemendy has agreed to sponsor the 2010 Easter egg roll for grad students and their families, and will host the event at his house.
The meeting ended as ASSU Vice President Andy Parker ’11 arrived to pass out promotional bracelets ahead of the upcoming Wellness Week. The bracelets read, “I’m _____ just the way I am,” and GSC members were given a marker to fill in the blank with an adjective that affirms their well-being.