In its 12th meeting, the 19th Undergraduate Senate discussed financial literacy, the Cardinal Commitment public service program and the Senate’s policy on funding Greek organizations.
Senators also gave updates on campus-wide initiatives, such as the opening of the Abilities Hub on Thursday. Student body vice president Vicki Niu ‘18 said that the ASSU would be handing out tampons in the upcoming weeks as part of its ongoing effort to improve students’ experience with menstruation. Doris Rodriguez ’20 reported on her ongoing efforts to secure funding for communities the Trump administration’s travel ban and proposed changes to DACA.
Initiating financial literacy program
The Student Financial Services Center (SSFC) is launching the beta version of Senate’s Haven Money — a simplified financial informational and advice system for students, which is part of its Mind Over Money Financial Literacy program. Its goal is to increase financial literacy around campus by raising awareness of financial aid processes, retirement accounts, credit scores and even investment, insurance and diversifying funds. The full program will be launched on Nov. 16.
The initiatives include a new course in winter and spring quarters designed specifically for undergraduate students. The director of taxes at Stanford is slated to teach the class.
Erika Topete, assistant director of the SSFC, has also been in contact with the Diversity and First-Gen Office as well as international students and student-athletes to build tools designed to address the needs specific to these communities. She is also seeking to connect with more communities on campus.
In addition, the SSFC has been in conversation with the Graduate Student Council to increase awareness of graduate financial issues.
Senators said they were excited about the idea of a financial literacy class.
Senator Hamzeh Daoud ’20 said, “I’ve never heard of [Mind Over Money] before but now I see how I could have utilized that last year.”
Cardinal Commitment looking to get organizations involved
Cardinal Service peer advisor Amulya Yerropotu ’20 spoke to the Senate about increasing awareness among service-oriented student groups about the Cardinal Commitment program.
The Cardinal Commitment — the newest part of Cardinal Service — encourages students to devote three or more quarters to a particular service group. As part of its outreach strategy, the program is seeking ASSU’s help to get the word out to the various service related student groups on campus.
Yerropotu said, “[Retention rates] are a really big problem in a lot of student groups, but if you make a commitment … that would improve retention for student groups.”
Program administrators have also raised the possibility of adding a transcript notation retroactively for students who complete this challenge, although Yerroptu said that the program was “too new” to pursue the next step at present.
Senate policy on funding Greek Organizations
After Kappa Alpha Psi requested funding for an upcoming all campus party, Senate discussed updating the funding guidelines for Greek organizations.
Senators suggested different ways to determine which Greek events should receive funding. Proposed criteria included the size of the group, whether or not the group requires dues, whether the event is mainly for charity, whether the event promotes the group’s stated mission and whether the group has exclusive membership.
By the end of the discussion, eight members voted to approve the motion, three voted against it and three abstained.
Contact Eva Hangartner at ehangart ‘at’ stanford.edu.