In its 14th meeting of the year, the 18th Undergraduate Senate moved to increase its transparency by passing a bill to archive recordings of open Senate meetings on public record for registered students.

Additionally, the Senate voted to fund a revamped Full Moon on the Quad, a Stanford tradition put on each year by the junior class officers, after considerations from a working group that met throughout the spring and summer. This year, the event is scaled down due to concerns regarding alcohol abuse and sexual assault, and seeks to emphasize consent, school spirit and community.

The bill to make audio recordings of future Senate meetings narrowly passed, with three Senators against and two abstaining.

The transparency bill was debated at length during the meeting, with some senators expressing concerns about privacy protection, citing the risk of non-Stanford students gaining access to the recordings. Others argued that the archive would engage students in Senate conversation and help maintain an accurate and objective record.

“This bill is a great win for transparency in our student government,” Senator Gabe Rosen ’19 said.

The Senate also appropriated $7,420 towards Full Moon on the Quad, which will take place on Jan. 12 for the first full moon of winter quarter. This cost is just over half of the cost of last year’s Full Moon on the Quad event, a scale-down that falls in line with changes recommended by a working committee that has been in place since spring quarter.

Junior Class President Catherine Goetze ’18 argued that the changes the junior class officers have implemented will make the event “less club-like.” White roses will be exchanged in an effort to place a bigger emphasis on gratitude and return to the roots of the Stanford tradition.

 

Contact Ellie Bowen at ebowen ‘at’ stanford.edu.