University President John Hennessy listened to student concerns including faculty and student diversity, financial aid and alumni interaction at a joint-ASSU/GSC Senate meeting last night.

“Tonight’s purpose was more educational than formal decision-making,” said ASSU Senate Deputy Chair Danny Arbeiter, a sophomore. “It was for President Hennessy to understand where the student body is coming from and for the student body to understand where the president is coming from.”

Arbeiter described the night as a springboard for future discussion and decisions. Many issues were brought to Hennessy’s attention so that the Senate and students in general could later iron out solutions.

Among the main topics was ethnic diversity, specifically in the graduate student body and faculty. Hennessy responded to concerns by saying that hopefully in the future programs could encourage more minority applicants. But, he also implored students to act as ambassadors to those who could add to the University’s diversity.

“We also need to be more encouraging of students to pursue an academic career,” he said.

Diversity of geographic background was also considered, with students pointing out the large student majority from California.

“West of the Mississippi, Stanford is the place to go, but east of it is different,” Hennessy said.

The president cited a decrease in enrollment by east-coast students following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the numbers are increasing again, he said, with a high number of east-coasters showing high interest through Admit Weekend attendance. Again, Hennessy encouraged students to be ambassadors, sharing their positive experiences with east-coast counterparts to stimulate more accepted students to enroll.

Students also raised concern for the transportation problem and financial difficulty international students sometimes face. With the Campaign for Undergraduate Education successfully finishing with $1.1 billion total, Hennessy said he hopes to see a large part of the fund used to increase financial aid and eventually offer need-blind admission for international students.

Other international students in attendance raised complaints over language barriers and a lack of winter-break accommodations. Hennessy said he plans to look into such student-suggested solutions as English language classes and housing with alumni over the break, both offered at Ivy League universities.

Connecting with alumni was another key issue brought up at the meeting. Hennessy pointed out the positive response of alumni to the Campaign for Undergraduate Education, and said he hopes that the alumni interest in and involvement with the University continues.

“If we can repeat what we did to get the alumni enthusiastic about improving the undergraduate experience, I think we’ll be successful,” he said.

Networking with alumni is also critical to student mentoring, recruitment and Stanford’s worldwide visibility, all of which Hennessy said he would like to see grow.

Among other issues discussed last night with Hennessy were extension of Green Library hours on weekends, expansion of student environmental awareness programs and student group funding.