Undergraduate senators confirmed a Financial Chair and created a new Deputy Appropriations Chair position during their final meeting of the 2021-22 academic year on Tuesday evening. Senators also tabled bills on menstrual products on campus and funding for additional on-ramp STEM courses.

Senators voted to confirm Jas Espinosa ’18 M.A. ’19 as ASSU Financial Manager and CEO of Stanford Student Enterprises. Espinosa will start in the role in July. The Senate also passed a resolution creating a new Deputy Appropriations Chair, who will be responsible for managing weekly Appropriations Committee office hours, presenting funding approvals to the Senate in the Chair’s absence and adopting other duties assigned by the Chair. The appointee will be at the discretion of the Appropriations Chair.

Senators also tackled specific issues as they close out their year of leadership.

Last week, Senator Ritwik Tati ’25 proposed a resolution that would mandate all campus-run buildings to have at least one bathroom with free menstrual and hygiene products. If approved, the bill would expand availability to dorms and campus establishments, including EVGR Marketplace. The initiative comes as California requires public schools to provide free menstrual products. 

Tati, who has also written for The Daily’s news section, and Senate co-chair Amira Dehmani ’24 will meet with Director of WorkLife Strategy at Stanford Caitlin Azhderian this Thursday to discuss how to increase availability of menstrual products on campus.

Senators also tabled another bill concerning funding on-ramp STEM courses for additional departments, including physics, chemistry and computer science. The courses would provide more support for students “who are considering a STEM major and who have limited or no training in a course that is naturally part of various STEM majors,” according to the bill. 

The Senate additionally tabled a bill to mandate mental health and wellness days until further notice. The bill would require all instructors to provide two to three days per quarter of non-attendance to support student mental health.

As part of its financial responsibilities, the Senate approved funding for various student organizations – including cultural groups and pre-professional organizations – for the 2021-22 school year. Funding ranged from $38 to approximately $20,000. 

With ASSU Executive President Christian Giadolor ’21 M.A. ’22 and Executive Vice President Bikal Sharma ’24 ending their term, Senators passed a resolution to congratulate the executives for their “commitment, dedication and service to the organization.” Each year, the ASSU proposes a bill to congratulate the previous Senate’s executive team, which requires unanimous support to pass.