Two executive slates and 21 Undergraduate Senate candidates have announced their intent to run in the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) elections since the filing window opened on Friday, Feb. 15. The window will remain open until Wednesday, Feb. 20.
ASSU Executives
There are two slates for the ASSU Executive position.
Kimiko Hirota ’20 and Bryce Tuttle ’20 both currently serve as members of Shanta Katipamula ’19 and Rosie Nelson’s ASSU executive cabinet. Hirota, the co-director of community centers and diversity, was also a member of the 19th Undergraduate Senate, where she sponsored a bill that would have allowed the Senate to express formal disapproval of student groups that bring speakers to campus who violate the Fundamental Standard. Tuttle, who has been Co-Director of Disability Advocacy for the ASSU for the past two years, was one of the key organizers behind the petition and the recently-passed Senate resolution to create a permanent Disability Community Center.
The other slate consists of Erica Scott ’20 and Isaiah Drummond ’20. Scott currently serves as co-chair of a Committee on Academic Freedom that works on free speech issues as they relate to the ASSU. She served on Frosh Council during the 2016-17 school year and was a member of the 19th Undergraduate Senate alongside Hirota, where she co-wrote the speakers bill that Hirota sponsored and led an initiative to replace red solo cups with compostable cups in Row houses. Drummond serves as Stanford in Government’s (SIG) Co-Director of Diversity and Outreach, and is also a Resident Assistant in the four-class dorm Meier Hall.
Class Presidents
The Sophomore Class President position is currently the only contested class president position. The Stanford LorAXE is comprised of Jackson Parell ’22, Juyon Lee ’22, Ari Nazem ’22 and Nidhi Mahale ’22, all currently serving on Frosh Council. It is also the only slate, as of Monday evening, that has posted a cohesive statement. The Lorax-themed statement includes proposals for ways to connect the sophomore class to the community outside of Stanford and to create a TedX series for sophomores.
The second Sophomore Class President slate, Slate of the Union, includes Monica Tsien ’22, Natalie Longmire-Kulis ’22, Henry Hill-Gorman ’22 and Trinity Donohugh ’22. The slate’s current statement reads “True 22 You.” Tsien, Longmire-Kulis and Hill-Gorman are currently Frosh Council representatives.
The only current Junior Class President Slate, 21 Savage, consists of David Pantera ’21, Celine Foster ’21, Johnathan Bridges ’21, Zarah Tesfai ’21, Robert Ross ’21 and N’Naserri Carew-Johnson ’21. Foster, Bridges and Carew-Johnson are all currently Sophomore Class Presidents. Pantera is currently a member of the Sophomore Cabinet and is also the Director of Communications for the ASSU and the Vice President of Stanford Marketing Group.
The Senior Class President Slate also has a music-inspired name: 20202020 Vision. The slate is Izzy Angus ’20, Sofía Dudas ’20, Marco Lee ’20 and Will Kenney ’20. All four currently serve as Junior Class Presidents. The slate’s current statement simply states: “okay okay okay okay okay okay oh.”
Undergraduate Senate
As of Monday evening, 21 students, including incumbents Martin Altenburg ’21 and Tim Vrakas ’21, have filed to run for the 15 spots on the 21st Undergraduate Senate. Altenburg is the only candidate for Senate with a full candidate statement.
Altenburg’s statement describes his work during his first term, including his personal Senate project, the Student Activities Directory, a website and document that provide information on student groups. Altenburg also highlighted his role in planning two Meet the Senators events and in writing a resolution “denouncing Dinesh D’Souza and his impact on campus dialogue,” which will be discussed in Tuesday’s Senate meeting. In line with the open communication he favors in Senate, Altenburg also shared his phone number and email address in the conclusion of his statement.
Vrakas, the other incumbent, was named an ex-officio Senator in October. He has been working on a free, quota-based printing system with Senator Michal Skreta ’21 and became Skreta’s proxy this quarter while Skreta studies abroad.
Out of the 21 declared candidates for Senate, 15 are freshmen, five are sophomores and one is a junior. The overwhelming number of freshmen running for Senate is consistent with previous elections and the reason why the 15th Undergraduate Senate passed a constitutional amendment in 2014 reserving three Senate seats for upperclassmen.
The filing period ends on Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. The petitioning period – in which candidates must attain a certain number of student signatures to ensure they can appear on the ballot — begins on Feb. 25. Campaign week begins on April 1 and elections will take place on April 10 and 11.
This article has been updated to include additional information about Erica Scott ’20 current student government position and her work on the 19th Undergraduate Senate.
Contact Zora Ilunga-Reed at zora814 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Patrick Monreal at pmonreal ‘at’ stanford.edu.