The ASSU Senate kicked off its meeting Tuesday with the introduction of Lina Hidalgo ‘13, the new ASSU Executive Chief of Staff nominated by ASSU President Michael Cruz ‘12 and Vice President Stewart Macgregor-Dennis ‘13.
Former ASSU Executive Chief of Staff Emma Ogiemwanye ‘12 stepped down after choosing to go abroad winter quarter this year.
“The different initiatives the cabinets are pursuing are geared toward bringing campus together,” said Hidalgo, who answered questions from Senators for several minutes at the meeting.
“The platform of the ASSU is an unbiased avenue to promote goals of student groups,” Hidalgo said, adding that she aims to continue promoting student groups on campus and follow through on several initiatives already started prior to her appointment.
Cruz and Macgregor-Dennis said five or six applicants applied to the position, and two final interviews were conducted to determine who would be hired. The bill appointing Hidalgo was passed unanimously, making her term as the new Chief of Staff effective immediately.
The Community Action Board (CAB), another group within the Executive that has experienced difficulty retaining staff, also has a new director. Cruz and Macgregor-Dennis chose Holly Fetter ‘13 to lead the CAB.
Stanford Showcase, an event planned by the ASSU Executive to display the diversity and unique identity of Stanford, also added a new director to its ranks. Lauren Felice ‘14, the current Chair of Student Life in the ASSU Executive, will be in charge of coordinating the event.
Cruz also updated the Senate on the Governing Documents Commission, a group tasked with updating the constitution and bylaws of the ASSU. Senator Alex Kindel ‘14 and Cruz said they worked for over 15 hours this weekend to finalize a draft of new governing documents and hope to show a private draft to administrators and Senators sometime in the next week. Cruz said he believes a public version will be available within the month.
Cruz said the new governing documents are significantly shorter than the current ones, estimating their length to be roughly 100 pages.
Senator Alon Elhanan ‘14 raised concerns over the documents, especially about how Senators would be able to adequately judge any changes or differences between the two versions. However, Cruz assured Elhanan that it would be a smooth process.
“I wouldn’t go so far as saying the content was the same, but anyone who was familiar with the ASSU will be able to recognize the documents,” Cruz said.
Senators also briefly discussed the Division of Internal Review (DIR). The Senate had previously grilled Andrew Aguilar ‘14, head of the DIR, for failing to gain access to financial information and failing to properly communicate with the Senate.
According to Macgregor-Dennis, this contentious exchange at a previous Senate meeting was dissuading Aguilar from coming in again.
“Andrew is wary of having communication with the Senate given past communication,” Macgregor-Dennis told the governing body.
Senate involvement with the DIR will continue, however, and the appropriations committee plans to review a controversial ASSU buffer fund to further explore the sustainability of the fund. Chair of the appropriations committee Brianna Pang ‘13 said she was working with Aguilar to write a report on the fund and to determine what its proper use will be in the future.
Contact Brendan O’Byrne at [email protected].