The Daily recently interviewed all candidates for ASSU Executive and was greatly impressed by the talented and genuine pool of those running for office. What particularly stood out was the insightful, comprehensive platform of innovative policies that each slate assembled. We would like to take the opportunity to synthesize what we thought were some of the most effective ideas regarding diversity, sustainability, graduate student issues, social proposals and ASSU-student body engagement, in the hope that newly-elected executives Johnny Dorsey ‘09 and Fagan Harris ‘09, along with the many new senators and class presidents, will consider implementing them.

At the centerpiece of nearly every slate’s platform was the issue of increasing diversity. For some this meant broadening the definition of diversity to include LGBT and different socio-economic groups; others spoke of wanting to establish a clear protocol for acts of intolerance; still others mentioned Diversity Outreach fellowships, international need-blind admissions, outreach and retention efforts and the promotion of transgender and gender neutral housing. These are all nuanced ways of tackling campus-wide diversity.

The Go Go slate brought up one idea in particular that we would like to see implemented. The pair praised the CS106 model of “stepping-stone” diversity, in which more-diverse undergraduates are employed as Teaching Assistants in the hopes that this will lead to a more diverse graduate population and professoriate, and they proposed expanding such a program to other departments. As the undergraduate student body is impressively diverse, this struck us as an effective way of addressing the problem of graduate and professional diversity with an existing solution.

Sustainability was yet another issue mentioned in every platform. Solutions included more effective electrical plants and eliminating the styrofoam cups at the Axe and Palm. Our new executives should be well-positioned to tackle sustainability issues on campus, given that they ran a sweat-free campaign featuring 100 percent recycled fliers. Their primary proposals included working closely with Students for a Sustainable Stanford to establish a cup-buying consortium to supply Stanford parties with sustainable cups instead of the ubiquitous red cups.

A third major issue that many candidates addressed was that of mental health. Few slates had concrete proposals, but all spoke of the need to improve the situation. Ideas mentioned including the need to reform Counseling and Psychological Services (for instance, extending the 10-free-visit yearly maximum), reduce student stress, provide greater help for students suffering from eating disorders and eliminate the stigma associated with receiving counseling. Mental health issues should certainly be at the forefront of this administration’s agenda.

Another important matter we hope our new executives will address is the subject of graduate student issues. This election showed a sharp divide between the graduate and undergraduate populations — with Go Go, a slate comprised of rising co-terms, receiving an overwhelming 40 percent of the graduate vote and presumably largely responsible for the 19 percent increase in graduate student voting. Considering the graduate student population is a majority on campus, its needs are often left remarkably unattended, to the point where many are unaware that the ASSU even serves graduates.

The Go Go slate was at the forefront of graduate issues. The pair proposed converting the 750 bar into an all-day cafe and urged a separate allotment of ASSU funds for graduate-only social events, noting that most graduate students do not experience a burning desire to mingle with undergraduates. They had a plethora of detailed, graduate-specific ideas that the new administration would do well to consider if the ASSU hopes to serve its entire constituency. In an effort to accomplish this, Dorsey and Harris admirably mentioned cutting their executive salaries to fund ASSU positions focusing on graduate issues.

The candidates varied in their approach to social-space issues, with all slates but Go Go (which wanted to convert Tresidder into a hang-out area) proposing to convert Old Union from a study space to a more social area; perhaps a schoolwide referendum on which would be preferable would be best. With regard to Old Union, Doshi/Hon proposed universal, online space-reservation system that would simplify coordinating meetings and events. Block parties, barbeques and other large social events were frequently mentioned, and another salient suggestion by Go Go was the implementation of a social shuttle to run on weekend nights between Governor’s Corner and Mirrielees, alleviating pressure on the cash-strapped 5-SURE system.

Lastly, the issue of student engagement with the ASSU is one we would like to consider. Many slates felt that they were running for a position in an organization that most in the student body considered useless. Several slates mentioned that they planned to utilize existing dorm contacts and visit student dining halls and solicit input face-to-face — Dorsey/Harris cited the example of former Stanford President Don Kennedy taking walks to the Dish with members of the Stanford community, and Go Go astutely noted that students spend an inordinate amount of time online, proposing Facebook polling to keep students engaged and providing feedback.

Overall, we heard from all the candidates many innovative and wide-ranging ideas for improving the entire Stanford community, and we hope that they will all be carefully considered and applied where possible.