The Undergraduate Senate (UGS) presented a resolution to enhance Title IX education and establish “proactive prevention efforts” against sexual violence at a Wednesday meeting. The UGS also unanimously voted to remove a resolution to declare Stanford a sanctuary campus from the docket. 

The UGS tabled the sanctuary campus resolution last week due to concerns that it would violate the University’s policy of institutional neutrality and attract unnecessary publicity. Graduate Student Council (GSC) representative Artem Arzyn ’25 M.S. ’25 also met with Provost Jenny Martinez and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Stephanie Kalfayan to discuss University resources for undocumented students.

The resolution on Title IX highlights the need for more constant educational programs to foster a new culture surrounding sexual violence. The current education programs “offer initial exposure to sexual violence prevention but lack continuity throughout students’ academic careers,” the resolution states. 

Title IX training for undergraduates currently consists of one-time events like Beyond SexEd and an educational video series. Stanford’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education (SHARE) Title IX and Title VI Office also offers optional programs like Flip the Script, Going Off Script, Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Program and Prevent, Educate, Empower, Refer (PEERs).

“What we wanted to do is transform these one-off opportunities into some more substantial continuous education programs,” UGS Treasurer Jadon Urogdy ’27 said.

UGS Co-Chair Ivy Chen ’26 stressed the importance of mandatory Title IX education for students to engage in for all four years of their undergraduate studies — not just New Student Orientation (NSO).

“We [want to] make sure that we’re having the SHARE [Title IX and Title VI] Office take an offensive stance rather than [a] defensive stance,” Urogdy said. “We want to make sure that students in the community can go out and help people spread resources in an effective manner… and that people are receiving the proper education they need to not make the decisions in the first place and end up in the Title IX office.” 

The undergraduate senators drew inspiration from Dartmouth College’s Sexual Violence Prevention Project (SVPP), which launched in 2015. The UGS met with members of the SVPP this week. 

“We’re not copying their model because we have to understand what is best for Stanford and how to implement that for Stanford,” Chen said.

The resolution, which proposes a four-year curriculum “integrating Title IX education with ongoing programming tailored to each undergraduate class,” focuses on three pillars: continuous education, cultural change and sustainability. It aims to instill Title IX programming into various aspects of student life by mandating Title IX programming for club sports teams, facilitating access to emergency contraceptives and addressing students’ fears of walking alone on campus at night.

UGS is also exploring the idea of requiring Title IX training before students rush Greek organizations in spring quarter and revising resident assistant (RA) training. Multiple UGS senators emphasized that they want students to have no other option but to engage with the Title IX programming.

Though Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) president Diego Kagurabadza ’25 “wholeheartedly support[s]” the resolution, he expressed concern that its requests required greater specificity. He also pointed out a lack of graduate student representation in its scope. 

Later, the Senate unanimously confirmed the 2025 ASSU elections commission. Christian Figueroa ’27 was confirmed as elections commissioner for the spring 2025 general election, while Gabriela Holzer ’25 M.A. ’26 and Jacob Parker ’27 were confirmed as assistant elections commissioners.

Members of the UGS also met with Stanford’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of (ACLU) on Feb. 18 to find ways to support undocumented students. 

Stanford ACLU will compile information on immigrant rights and resources that the UGS and Stanford ACLU will disseminate, Urogdy said. The two groups are also exploring workshops or office hours with community members who are knowledgeable about immigration information.

“We understand that this is an urgent and developing situation for those impacted, so we will be working under a significantly shortened timeline to efficiently make sure that we get some tangible progress done,” Urogdy said.