The 12th ASSU Undergraduate Senate confirmed on Tuesday three ASSU executive nominees, David Hoyt ’12, J’vona Ivory ’11 and Samir Siddhanti ’12, to the Constitutional Council.

The ASSU executives, despite having chosen three nominees at the beginning of summer, decided to redo the interview process for the Constitutional Council at the beginning of fall quarter, resulting in three new nominees — Ivory, Hoyt and Siddhanti.

Hoyt and Ivory were present Tuesday evening to field questions from the senators and to express what motivated them to serve in the ASSU judicial branch.

“I have a history of studying constitutions…I wanted to apply what I’ve learned in the abstract to reality,” Ivory said.

Hoyt, a junior transfer student, mentioned his experience with public speaking and his personal aspirations toward law school. He said his extensive participation in different student organizations granted him the skills needed to serve on the Constitutional Council.

“Every organization I worked with I threw myself into 110 percent,” Hoyt said.

Senator Rebecca Sachs ’12 asked Ivory about her past experience in the ASSU, a contentious issue surrounding the replacement of the Executive’s original nominees.

Ivory served in the 10th Undergraduate Senate and ran endorsed by the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC). She did not seek re-election.

“How do you think having been on the inside will influence how you see things?” Sachs asked.

Ivory cited her experience as a senator as less-than-positive and discussed her decision to part with the ASSU for her junior year, a choice that allowed her to understand the ASSU from the perspective of a typical student.

“Junior year I decided to distance myself from [the ASSU]… through my distance I was able to get what the students thought the ASSU meant,” Ivory said, adding that she looks forward to joining the ASSU in a new capacity.

“Yes, I was SOCC-endorsed, but that was awhile ago,” she added. “I’m older and do have an unbiased view.”

When asked his view of the role of the Constitutional Council, Hoyt stressed the council’s importance in maintaining the balance of the ASSU branches and “protecting the students and their organizations and empowering them.”

Senate Chair Michael Cruz ‘12 said of the nominations, “It was a fair and open process. We have three excellent new justices and I’m sure they’ll work hard.”

The Senate tabled on Tuesday a bill calling for a surveying method to obtain qualitative and quantitative data on student opinion about Senate bills.

The bill’s author, Stewart Macgregor-Dennis ’13, suggested the Senate communication committee further discuss the details of the bill, though many senators supported the goal of using data on student opinion to inform voting.

“We want accurate numbers and the better the methodologies, the more accurate the statistics we’ll get and the better decisions we’ll make,” Macgregor-Dennis said.

During committee updates, Appropriations Committee Chair Rafael Vasquez ’12 briefed the Senate on the recent revisions to general fees for 2010-2011, including economies of scale for event food and explicit line-item distinctions. Vasquez said the committee plans to encourage student groups to spend on an event basis to decrease the Senate’s take-back rate.

As the short meeting neared closing, the Senate atmosphere shifted and the senators began to discuss informal gatherings, such as a Senate party.

“It’s so good to see everyone so happy, in such a happy setting,” said Daniel Khalessi ’13.

“I’ve been a Stanford student for three years and I’ve seen three Senates and I can say the 12th Senate is a happier and a more whole bunch,” said Cruz, who also served in the 11th Senate. “We all just seem to get along. It helps the debate because we can be real with one another.”

Cruz added, “There’s more respect — almost a collegial experience.”

All student group-funding bills and budget modifications for the evening were passed.