The Undergraduate Senate (UGS) heard updates on a new app for the student ride service 5-SURE and addressed the potential graduate worker strike at their Wednesday meeting.
Senator Viviana Chuquijajas ‘26, who works for 5-SURE, shared that the service has officially launched a new app called TripShot. Students will no longer be able to call for a ride from 5-SURE, as all bookings will be processed through TripShot, which is available both as an app and on a web interface.
“In TripShot, you can see the ETA expected and you can actually track your driver,” Chuquijajas said. “You’re also allowed to leave comments and it’s very streamlined.”
During the Wednesday meeting, UGS co-chairs Gordon Allen ’26 and Ivy Chen ’26 addressed a potential graduate worker strike, which could start as early as Tuesday. Allen said that he expects professors to plan for disruptions to classes, many of which are led by graduate students who are teacher’s assistants, and requested that undergraduates refrain from responding with hostility toward striking graduate workers.
Stanford also celebrated Democracy Day on Tuesday, the day of the 2024 U.S. general election. While senators acknowledged not all students would be happy with the presidential election results, they praised students for participating in the day’s events.
“We’re really impressed with all of the students who showed up to learn about the democratic process and spent their free day to better themselves and their community,” said senator Jadon Urogdy ’27. “For a lot of the events we tripled the expectations for numbers.”
On Wednesday, senators also shared progress updates on their committee initiatives.
Housing and dining committee senators gave a presentation on housing reassignment issues, including the issue of students who are assigned to undesired locations after returning from studying abroad.
“It’s very hard when a student gets placed [in a co-op] after studying abroad and they don’t want to be there,” Chuquijajas said. “It’s essential in a co-op for everyone to want to live there and contribute to the community.”
Senators Celeste Vargas ’27 and Urogdy of the Health and Safety Committee shared that they met with Title IX outreach and student resources manager Miranda Tuttle and Vice Provost for Institutional Equity, Access, and Community Patrick Dunkley to establish a working relationship between the SHARE Title IX Office and the UGS.
Vargas and Urogdy also contacted Lucia Wade, civilian manager of public safety, with concerns regarding AlertSU. “There has been a lot of concern around campus that AlertSU is kind of slow and a little ineffective,” Vargas said. “We were just wondering if there is anything we can do on our end to increase efficiency and efficacy.”
Ethan Alfonso ’27 shared that he would open applications for the Senate Associate Program (SAP) on Thursday, allowing first-year and transfer students to receive mentorship from a UGS member. The form will close on Nov. 18.