Simar Malhotra – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Tue, 06 Jun 2017 08:57:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Simar Malhotra – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Drinking fountains to be installed in Crothers, FloMo https://stanforddaily.com/2017/06/06/drinking-fountains-to-be-installed-in-crothers-flomo/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/06/06/drinking-fountains-to-be-installed-in-crothers-flomo/#respond Tue, 06 Jun 2017 08:00:30 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1128947 In an initiative to reduce water waste and disposable plastic bottles, R&DE) is working with the ASSU to install refillable water bottle water fountains in Crothers Hall and Florence Moore Hall.

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In an initiative to reduce water waste and disposable plastic bottles, Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE) is working with the ASSU to install refillable water bottle water fountains in Crothers Hall and Florence Moore Hall.

Crothers dorm currently does not have any water fountains; its fountains were removed in 2009 when the building was renovated. Students were encouraged to use the sinks instead to fill up their bottles. This decision was met with significant resistance and has recently resurfaced. ASSU Senator Matthew Cohen ’18 took up the issue when many students approached him about it.

“A lot of people were buying plastic water bottles the kind that are not reusable,” Cohen said. “This is not environmentally friendly and a significant hassle for students.”

Newer dorms such as Meier Hall and Norcliffe Hall have bottle refilling stations, but older dorms do not.

“Those same resources must be there for all students,” Cohen said. “All housing options should have these basic amenities available.”

Elizabeth Trinh ’18, a former resident of Crothers, agreed that installing bottle refilling stations would be beneficial to students.

“I didn’t like using the sink because coming from Georgia, I had the perception that sink water was not filtered… [and] my water bottle was also too big to fit, so I would either go to Arrillaga or buy non-reusable water bottle packs,” said Trinh, adding that she bought two to three big packs of bottled water each quarter.

Trinh, who works at Encina Hall, also said that the refilling station there was convenient and helped her conserve plastic.

Cohen is working with R&DE on the project “Fountains For All.” The pilot program will be introduced in Crothers where R&DE will be installing bottle refilling stations on the third floor. The success of the pilot program will determine how widespread the bottle refilling stations become, according to Cohen.

“This is a great example of students and the administration working together to improve student wellbeing at Stanford,” Cohen said.

Contact Simar Malhotra at simar ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Graduate Student Council ultimately approves election results https://stanforddaily.com/2017/05/04/graduate-student-council-ultimately-approves-election-results/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/05/04/graduate-student-council-ultimately-approves-election-results/#respond Thu, 04 May 2017 09:04:49 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1127020 In its meeting on Wednesday, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) swore in new members and confirmed 2017 ASSU election, special fees and referendum results.

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In its meeting on Wednesday, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) swore in new members and confirmed the 2017 ASSU election, special fees and referendum results.

Councilors also debated whether to make an official statement about technical difficulties in the election process, for which the at-large portion of the ballot was not randomized, and discussed the creation of a new election manual to update certain procedures.

Election results

A resolution to approve the results of the 2017 ASSU elections was highly debated, as Elections Commission member Kali Allison confirmed that the at-large portion of the ballot was not randomized. Candidates showed up in the same order on each ballot.

Jennifer Hill M.A. ’16, Ph.D. candidate in sociology, noted that there is no perfect solution that will solve every technical difficulty, but suggested some sort of public statement acknowledging the lack of randomization and affirming that the GSC supports fair elections. Hill also floated the idea of censuring the Elections Commission.

Councilors shied away from any language referring to “censuring” the Elections Commission but agreed that they could put a statement discussing this year’s technical difficulties and the GSC’s commitment to fairness in an updated election manual that some GSC members are currently working on.

Election results were ultimately confirmed with seven in favor, two opposed and two abstaining. Eleven new GSC members were sworn into their positions.

A resolution to confirm the results of graduate special fees voting and a referendum seeking to ensure the GSC’s long-term financial health passed unanimously.

Funding and internal matters

The GSC voted unanimously in favor of the Belgian Student Association’s budget for an evening of Belgian beer taking place at the Escondido Village Center on May 13. The Council also passed the budget for janitorial services at the Northern California Musicology Colloquium, an assembly for musicians to collaborate and exchange resources organized by the Stanford Graduate Music Studies Forum, Stanford Humanities Fund and Ron Alexander Memorial Fund.

A budget of $15,000 — the maximum allowed — was also approved for the Bechtel International Center’s event, “Fire on Fire,” an international multi-cuisine barbecue scheduled for May 14. The event will be open to undergraduates as well as graduate students.

Caleb Smith ’17 M.A. ’18 , a co-term student who is also a Daily staffer, proposed adding 500 units of graduate student housing on campus within a six-month period. He suggested setting up housing units where the golf driving range is currently located. Smith sought to assuage worries about the availability of utility services such as water, arguing that because the golf course is close to West Campus housing, these facilities should not be difficult to access.

Old GSC members encouraged new councilors to bond with other members of the graduate student body at graduate formal, which will take place this Friday.

The GSC’s budget for the 2018 fiscal year also passed with one abstention.

Outgoing GSC Co-chair Pau Guinart Ph.D. ’18 announced that the University is hosting a workshop on Saturday focused on institutional change at Stanford, specifically how the University is run and how community members can get their  voices heard. GSC members will also hold office hours on May 15, and Guinart noted that old and new councilors need to work together during the upcoming transition period.

Finally, Proxy Kate Gasparro from the School of Civil Engineering reported that the GSC website, which is down as a result of updating, will become live again soon.

 

Contact Simar Malhotra at simar ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Stanford Voter Project recruits residents to persuade dorm mates to vote https://stanforddaily.com/2016/10/10/stanford-voter-project-recruits-residents-to-persuade-dorm-mates-to-vote/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/10/10/stanford-voter-project-recruits-residents-to-persuade-dorm-mates-to-vote/#respond Mon, 10 Oct 2016 09:01:36 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1117790 The newly-launched Stanford Voter Project is giving students more reason to vote by getting their dorm mates involved in voter registration drives.

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The newly-launched Stanford Voter Project is giving students more reason to vote by getting their dorm mates involved in voter registration drives. Founders Mulan MacDougall ’18 and Sophia Pink ’19 took the initiative from the drawing board to the residence halls after conceiving of the idea in a d.school class taught by lecturer Cynthia Benjamin B.S. ’85 M.S. ’88.

The Stanford Voter Project aims to bring students out to vote (Courtesy of Mulan MacDougall).
The Stanford Voter Project aims to get dorms involved in voter registration drives (Courtesy of Mulan MacDougall).

“We’re trying to transform voting from a solitary chore to a community activity,” Pink said.

Called ME 105: “Designing for Impact,” the class focused on increasing student voter participation at Stanford. With the help of Benjamin, MacDougall and Pink sought funding from the Haas Centre for Public Service, the product design department at Stanford and Stanford in Government (SIG) to get their project off the ground.

MacDougall and Pink interviewed other students and looked at research by social scientists about why people vote or don’t vote. In their research, Pink and MacDougall found that lack of community support and accountability were the two things that most hindered student participation. Most students did not have much of an idea about whether their peers were registered voters or not because of a dearth of conversation about voting.

Another problem was missing public accountability. Even though students register to vote, many of them do not stay interested enough to actually go to the polling booths come election day.

Most students at Stanford leave their home state to attend college and many of them are first-time voters. Additionally, according to Pink and MacDougall, voting becomes harder in college because so many students have to request absentee ballots and do not see voting as a norm. Different states have different laws, and many students find the voting process daunting as a result.

In response, the Stanford Voting Project recruited “voter champions” in each residence hall to assist students in the process of registration, requesting an absentee ballot and providing any other information about voting procedures.

As a first step, voter champions conduct a survey in their own dorm, asking people if they registered to vote or not.

In addition to providing information, the Stanford Voter Project also aims to increase accountability among students by hanging up posters proclaiming “I am a registered voter” and “I promise to vote in the 2016 election” in dorms for students to sign. Personalized signs on residents’ doors also create positive peer pressure for other students in the residential community to vote.

A Twain resident who declined to be named appreciated the greater accessibility the Stanford Voter Projects brings to voting.

“It is especially good that they’re coming to the dorms, because many students don’t know about the process,” the student said. “They also make you register there and then, which is super helpful.”

Ellie Utter ’19, who serves as voter champion for Twain, was heartened by her fellow residents’ response.

“Everyone in the dorm is so excited about the election. Everyone has so many questions,” Utter said.

MacDougall and Pink say that their project is based in large part on psychology research done at Stanford. For example, Stanford psychologists found that tying voting to people’s identity increased the chance that they would vote in an election.

“We want to show voting as a norm because if you can establish something as a norm and show that, then people are more likely to follow with it,” MacDougall explained.

The project is currently focused primarily on increasing voter participation in the November presidential elections. After the elections, Pink and MacDougall will evaluate the effectiveness of their work and possibly expand their project to other college campuses. They especially hope to reach swing states where youth voter participation can have a huge impact on the results.

 

Contact Simar Malhorta at simar ‘at’ stanford.edu

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Panel of international leaders discuss issues in global education https://stanforddaily.com/2016/04/27/panel-of-international-leaders-discuss-issues-in-global-education-2/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/04/27/panel-of-international-leaders-discuss-issues-in-global-education-2/#respond Wed, 27 Apr 2016 09:08:29 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1114249 The Stanford Centre for Philanthropy and Civil Society held a panel discussion on a Collaboration for Scaling Global Education yesterday at Cubberley Auditorium. The panelists included Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister of Australia; Yuri Afanasiev, the United Nations’ Resident Coordinator of India; Shiv Khemka, the chair of The Global Education and Leadership Foundation (TGELF); and Rebecca Winthrop, the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Vasundhara Raje, the chief minister of the Indian state of Rajasthan, was not able to attend the panel and was represented by Naresh Gangwar, an official from the Rajasthan Department of Education.

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The Stanford Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society held a panel discussion on a Collaboration for Scaling Global Education yesterday at Cubberley Auditorium. The panelists included Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister of Australia; Yuri Afanasiev, the United Nations’ Resident Coordinator of India; Shiv Khemka, the chair of The Global Education and Leadership Foundation (TGELF) and Rebecca Winthrop, the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Vasundhara Raje, the chief minister of the Indian state of Rajasthan, was not able to attend the panel and was represented by Naresh Gangwar, an official from the Rajasthan Department of Education.

The panel discussed issues in education around the world and their potential solutions, including lack of access and poor quality. The panelists, especially Gillard, emphasized the importance of individual education to the prosperity of the entire planet. She claimed education is essential to have access to adequate resources, ensure a healthier world, combat climate change, control world population and promote peace and security.

“I am a passionate believer in the power of education. It has the power of transforming lives,” said Gillard.

Winthrop elaborated by discussing the importance of educational quality and the difficulties in scaling reforms in education globally.

“There have been successful small scale educational interventions,” she said. “However, those are the exceptions. Not the norms.”

In tandem with Winthrop, Khemka gave an insight into the demographics of Indian society and the unique challenges thus faced by the education system there.

“Fifty percent of our people are below the age of 25,” Khemka said. “The education system hasn’t moved forward from the one imposed by the British in the colonial era that would produce factory workers for the massive empire.”

The fast growing population and the rate at which the economy is changing prevents the changes from occurring in the educational sector fast enough, he elaborated.

When asked whether the same model of education can be implemented in different societies, Khemka answered in the affirmative, adding, however, that some aspects have to be molded to fit the local environment.

He, along with some colleagues, are working on creating a virtual platform, The Global Education Technology Innovation Network, to bring together all the work happening in education around the world so that it becomes accessible to everyone who needs it.

On a similar note, Gangwar said there was a need to find a solution to the problem of poor learning levels in the public schools of Rajasthan.

“In India, there is a huge gap between the schools in urban and rural areas,” said Gangwar. He emphasized the urgency required to bridge this growing gap.

In the same vein, Afanasiev noted that “Inequality is at the heart of these issues … It breeds the problems we’re trying to tackle.”

A simple solution could be the government cutting down defense spending and using those resources towards education, he elaborated. However, he acknowledged, the situation was not that simple.

All panelists agreed that technology was a promising method for scaling global education. Use of the internet, tablets and other mobile devices could be used to provide education even in remote areas.

Following the panel discussion, the floor was opened to the audience for questions.

 

Contact Simar Malhotra at simar ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Center for South Asia holds teach-in on caste in India https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/09/center-for-south-asia-holds-teach-in-on-caste-in-india/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/09/center-for-south-asia-holds-teach-in-on-caste-in-india/#respond Wed, 09 Mar 2016 10:32:47 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1112190 In response to a student suicide in India, The Stanford Center for South Asia hosted a second installment of their teach-in series on “Why Caste Matters” on February 29.

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In response to a student suicide in India, The Stanford Center for South Asia hosted a second installment of its teach-in series on “Why Caste Matters” on Feb. 29. The death of Rohith Vemula, a Ph.D. student at the University of Hyderabad in India, has reopened the conversation about the caste system’s prevalence in India since ancient times, a conversation that has now reached Stanford. The teach-in’s panelists included Linda Hess, senior lecturer in the department of religious studies, along with graduate students Anubha Anushree (history) and Vivek Narayan (theater and performance studies).

The Indian caste system, a structure of social stratification based on birth, traces its origin to the pre-modern ages. Thomas Hansen, a professor of South Asian studies and the host for the session, said, “[The caste system] didn’t become a system until the British arrived armed with empirical sciences, counting, enumerating… everything they found.

“It then became a system that people started to inhabit in a more systematic way.”

The speakers emphasized that the division of a people into “castes” led to grave discrimination and continues to remain an important ingredient of the contemporary Indian society, albeit in unapparent ways.

Hess, a specialist in Hinduism, commenced the session by presenting two videos shot in Maharashtra, India before the audience. Both the videos included individuals using art and music as mediums to display their displeasure at the discriminatory practices against women and members of lower castes.

“My presentation stems from deep discomfort and displeasure from the way caste in recent time has been portrayed in contemporary India,” Anushree followed.

She claimed that teenagers living in urban spaces in India and the Indian diaspora may suppose that the system of caste-based marginalization doesn’t exist anymore; however, she stated this notion is far from the truth.

Narayan also attested to this idea but asserted that after the recent events in Hyderabad, the view of caste being a pre-modern concept is withering away.

“Caste is always somewhere else – either in another time or in another space,” he said, reiterating the general notion shared by people in India.

“Its invisibility does not signify its nonexistence… Sometimes, some structures are invisible, and that is precisely why they may exist in a more brutal way,” Anushree added.

This occurs because there is no social mechanism to keep a check on the discrimination and injustices that ensue, she reasoned.

According to Anushree, as India’s cities become more cosmopolitan, one might be led to believe that caste issues are no longer relevant. However, upon closer scrutiny, the nuances of caste in modern society become perceptible.

“When I grew up, I realized that there were some people who were not allowed to enter my own house,” she said, admitting to the occurrence of casteism even in her household. “My parents too were not absolutely accepting of everyone.”

“There wouldn’t be such a repeated coincidence between poverty and the deprived castes,” Anushree added, refuting the notion that the caste system was no longer prevalent.

In her presentation, Anushree emphasized on two principle features of caste: its materiality and its mutability.

“Caste is woven around material, everyday things,” she said. “It is performed in the material reality and everyday experiences… It is reinforced through practice.”

“The clothes you wear [or] whether you drink coffee or tea is also determined by caste,” she added.

The immutability of caste comes about from the fact that birth is the primary criteria for determining one’s caste.

“Like gender and race, there is the biological logic of caste, but it exists through social performance… One can’t transcend the biological factuality of one’s birth,” Anushree said.

Using Rohith Vemula’s example, Narayan elaborated on this explanation of caste rigidity.

“[Vemula] was facing harassment in the university but he was not a reserved student,” Narayan explained.

Vemula, whose father was from the Vadera caste, grew up with his mother’s family members, who were Dalits. He got admission into the university in the general category and not through India’s affirmative action system for people of lower castes.

“But that made no difference to the way he was treated,” he said.

Caste often comes with geographic demarcations, but this notion has been diluted over the years.

“Rohith was not stuck in one place; he travelled all over Andhra, but caste travelled with him,” Narayan said.

Giving an insight into another aspect of the Indian caste system, Anushree went on to describe the process of untouchability, a concept that denies an individual the right to his or her own body.

“To deny some the right to touch or be touched denies them the right of a physical, tactical existence,” she affirmed.

According to Anushree, even though many would outright reject the presence of this hoary concept, this practice is still observed in Hindu temples, courtrooms, holy rivers and other places. When people from the lower castes enter these places, upper-caste individuals even today feel obligated to undergo a ritual of purification to rid themselves of social contamination.

“The constitution, through many provisions, has mandated its unequivocal support to alleviate the erstwhile untouchables,” she stated.

However, she added, this very discourse that deems the constitution to hold sole accountability for caste prejudices ignores the ethical and moral responsibilities of individuals.

Narayan agreed with this notion and said, “The understanding of the caste ideology is completely dropped when we talk about reservations… Historical reparations are forgotten and what we have is the logic of entitlement.”

Solely relying on the system of reservation to combat the problem of casteism leads to what Anushree calls “moral impoverishment,” asserting that it stops individuals from bearing any personal responsibility towards society. In order to combat a structure as complex as this, she suggested, a “concerted, collective and radical effort” is required.

Narayan also discussed the politics surrounding Rohith Vemula’s death and the connection to the current uproar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

In Rohith Vemula’s case, he was protesting the execution of Yakub Memon, a terrorist convicted for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.

“The claim wasn’t whether he should be killed or not, but whether the state had the right to take life,” Narayan said.

What followed was his suspension from the university and eventual suicide, attributed to persecution for his political activism and social ostracizing because of his caste.

Narayan went on to describe three forms of violence that have historically plagued India, and how their implications played out in relation to Vemula’s suicide: “bureaucratic” violence, in which the government renders illegitimate certain political actions; “lumpen” violence, in which mobs come down to physically express displeasure; and “discursive” violence, in which spoken and written words are used instead of physicality.

“Today, the interests of these three forms of violence are aligning very closely,” he said. “I like to think of this as an entrepreneurship model of violence in India… where you have this brand ideology of Hindutva and then you have these lumpen goons setting up franchise stalls articulating and selling their wares of violence using the ideology of Hindutva.”

This short session provided the audience with a cursory glance at the Indian caste system. Sangeeta Mediratta, the associate director at the Center of South Asia, claimed that the teach-in was specially organized to consider the interests of the undergraduate population.

“We were not engaging enough undergraduates with our other events,” she said. “We wanted to address more contemporary and topical issues that are interesting to the undergraduates.”

Through these classroom-like sessions, the Center for South Asia hopes to interest students in the classes offered in the department as well as raise awareness about its ongoing events.

In its next teach-in, it hopes to engage students in the conversation over India and Pakistan’s embittered relationship, and explore how two nations that were cut from the same geographic, cultural and ethnic cloth still exhibit such grave animosity.

 

Contact Simar Malhotra at simar ’at’ stanford.edu.

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BASES launches new online platform for entrepreneurship https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/01/bases-launches-new-online-platform-for-entrepreneurship/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/01/bases-launches-new-online-platform-for-entrepreneurship/#respond Tue, 01 Mar 2016 08:23:43 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1111875 Conceptualized last winter, CNECT is a new online platform for student entrepreneurs to share ideas, present opinions and exchange knowledge about entrepreneurship across the world. Founded by Jasmin Park '16, CNECT essentially acts as a news-publishing platform, consolidating diverse ideas.

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Conceptualized last winter, CNECT is a new online platform for student entrepreneurs to share ideas, present opinions and exchange knowledge about entrepreneurship across the world. Founded by Jasmin Park ’16, CNECT is now beta-testing, and essentially acts as a news-publishing platform, consolidating diverse ideas.

“There were so many interesting things going on out there, even outside of Stanford,” said Park, who had served as the branding point-person for BASES. “I realized that a single platform consolidating all these ideas and having different people talk about them together was necessary.”

After receiving a green light from the BASES administration, a team of people came together to build the platform. The following spring quarter had Park writing out proposals, after which she was nominated to be vice president of CNECT.

CNECT started as a Stanford initiative, but soon began collaborating with entrepreneurship student groups at Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, USC and Syracuse. Each of these teams provides content for the website, incorporating diverse views and helping students from across the globe to engage in conversation about entrepreneurship and opportunities. CNECT thus forms a window into student entrepreneurship, allowing like-minded individuals to connect with one another and network. It also aspires to become a pioneer in providing news about entrepreneurship and become “a hub of information.”

There are three liaisons on the team who maintain dialogue with other universities.

“We are in our beta-testing phase right now. [All universities] schedule to publish at least five to six articles each week,” said Ribhav Gupta ’19, the liaison between Stanford and USC.

While recruiting members for the CNECT team, Park said that she took everyone she interviewed. Creativity and genuine passion were the two key aspects she was searching for, along with an engineering background to ensure that the website remained bug-free.

When asked about how individuals can involve themselves in CNECT, Gupta specified that people should start by reading, learning and presenting their opinions in the comment section. Park also asserted that they wanted CNECT to have a similar feel to Reddit, with a high degree of interaction but more structure.

“We’re still trying to have a [user interface] where it’s more conducive for people to talk to one another.”

Along with the website and iOS development, which is in progress at the moment, CNECT is considering a new program called Toilet Talks to widen their reach.

“The only time people actually have time is in the bathroom,” Park claimed. “This new concept would essentially serve to cultivate bold, wild, young and free ideas.”

CNECT, which is under the umbrella of BASES, works in a hand-and-glove manner with the entrepreneurship student group. BASES provides CNECT with interesting ideas to write about, and CNECT will, in turn, help BASES network with other entrepreneurship student groups around the country.

While Park will be graduating soon, she hopes to see CNECT develop confidence in its product and thrive well after her graduation.

 

Contact Simar Malhotra at simar ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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ASSU Sexual Assault Prevention committee, Task Force address sexual assault https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/11/assu-sexual-assault-prevention-committee-task-force-address-sexual-assault/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/11/assu-sexual-assault-prevention-committee-task-force-address-sexual-assault/#respond Wed, 11 Nov 2015 09:00:10 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1106725 The Sexual Assault Prevention committee of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) partnered with the Spoken Word Collective to organize an open mic event, called “(Un)filtered,” on gender violence, sexual assault and identity last Wednesday, Nov. 4. The event comes at a time during which the University is also reviewing a proposed updated judicial process for sexual assault.

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The Sexual Assault Prevention committee of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) partnered with the Spoken Word Collective to organize an open mic event, called “(Un)filtered,” on gender violence, sexual assault and identity last Wednesday, Nov. 4. The event comes at a time during which the University is also reviewing a proposed updated judicial process for sexual assault.

(McKENZIE LYNCH/The Stanford Daily)
(McKENZIE LYNCH/The Stanford Daily)

ASSU Sexual Assault Prevention committee

This year’s co-chairs of the ASSU’s Sexual Assault Prevention committee, Tanvi Jayaraman ’16 and Hannah Long ’16, have decided to partner with various organizations on campus for their events over their term. They plan to follow a model in which they would concentrate on collaborating with those who are experts in their fields so as to present a more effective presentation.

The open mic night was a platform for individuals to share stories about gender identity, gender-based violence and similar concepts.

According to Jayaraman, the open mic was aimed at “creating a safe, healing space where people… could talk about their stories or simply listen” without fear of judgment. Due to the gravity and touching nature of the subjects, a professional confidential counselor from CAPS and two members from the Young Women’s Christian Association’s Sexual Assault Center at Stanford were present for people to seek professional help if needed.

“The ASSU is there to elevate the voices of the students to the University,” Jayaraman said.

She also explained that the ASSU hopes to steer the issues surrounding sexual assault towards a more community-based avenue.

“[‘(Un)filtered’] is essentially storytelling, and for many people, stories can be healing,” she said.

Alison Romero ’19, a member of the Women’s Coalition and one of the event’s attendees, said that she liked listening to people’s stories and that first hand-accounts, such as those narrated by the participants, are always a lot more powerful than lectures or talks.

Larry Liu ’16 said that the space was so comfortable that he was able to talk about a story very personal to him even though it “didn’t quite fit” into the theme.

“Being in the presence of those who had undergone those experiences made me feel empowered,” Liu said. “I came out confident in both understanding those issues and knowing that I too could fight them.”

He explained that he has observed a shift in the focus of the University administration — now concentrating more on the psychological state of mind of students instead of on alcohol policies and substance abuse, as was the case during his freshman year.

According to Jayaraman, the Sexual Assault Prevention committee also hopes to put together a peer education program for sexual assault prevention in association with residential offices and community centers. The peer educators would be part of the The Office of Sexual Assault & Relationship Abuse Education & Response (SARA) and would do outreach programs and workshops with students.

The committee’s ultimate aim is to allow for many more healing spaces on campus where students feel comfortable and safe, Jayaraman said. They want to implement primary prevention measures to tackle underlying issues that may lead to sexual assault and hope to instill in the Stanford community the importance of healthy relationships, consent and respect for other human beings.

Addressing recommendations from the Provost’s Task Force

Tangentially to the Sexual Assault Prevention committee, ASSU President John-Lancaster Finley ’16 spoke about how the University is working toward implementing suggestions from the Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Assault Policies and Practices.

Comprised of faculty members, graduate students and undergraduate students, the group was created “because of pressure put on the University administration in the aftermath of the Stand With Leah protests in 2014,” Finley said. The Task Force disbanded after the release of the recommendations last spring.

Working with the Title IX office and the Office of Community Standards, the Task Force proposed a new Title IX process that would be more unified and consistent in its process, will minimize delays when the University investigates allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct, and offer legal support and assistance for both parties. A panel of three trained faculty staff and graduate students will then hear the case and determine whether or not the alleged student exhibited prohibited conduct and disciplinary action should be taken. As recommended by the task force, the decision must be unanimous.

“We are working to ensure an adjudication process that is fair, consistent and equitable as part of our ongoing effort to achieve a campus environment free of sexual violence,” said Provost John Etchemendy to the Stanford News Service in an announcement released on Monday. “The proposed process also represents a significant investment of resources by the University in new staff and support resources that will be available to students participating in the process.”

The Task Force recommendations also include the creation of The Confidential Support Team, administratively run by Vaden Health Center, to satisfy the demand for more sexual assault support resources. Another recommendation to increase the budget for prevention education has been proposed to the University Budget Group.

“This [increased budget] should result in the hiring of a new Senior Associate Vice Provost for Gender Diversity & Inclusion, who will oversee all Title IX-related processes within the University,” Finley said.

“[The ASSU aims to] continue the spirit of the Task Force’s work — to identify ways to improve education and response so that the institution of Stanford can become an intellectual, cultural and academic leader in combating the crisis of sexual violence on college campuses,” he added.

The University is currently taking comments on this proposed process and hopes to implement the new process in a pilot program in the winter.

 

Contact Simar Malhotra at simar ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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A cappella groups perform songs for Hennessy at Block Party https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/25/a-cappella-groups-preform-songs-for-hennessy-at-block-party/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/25/a-cappella-groups-preform-songs-for-hennessy-at-block-party/#respond Mon, 26 Oct 2015 06:02:11 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1105646 In honor of University President John Hennessy stepping down at the end of the academic year, the Stanford Alumni Association (SAA) organized an a cappella group songwriting competition. The three winning groups performed their songs at the Block Party honoring Hennessy on Saturday.

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In honor of University President John Hennessy stepping down at the end of the academic year, the Stanford Alumni Association (SAA) organized an a cappella group songwriting competition. The three winning groups performed their songs at the Block Party honoring Hennessy on Saturday.

“The performances were terrific,” Hennessy said.

The a cappella groups had to either write a new song or do a parody of an existing one to bid farewell to Hennessy. Mixed Company, Everyday People (EP) and the Stanford Mendicants were declared the winners of the contest, receiving a grant of a $1000 each.

Julie Bore, one of the members of SAA, came up with the idea of organizing an “artsy” contest to commemorate the President as well as engage the alums during the reunion. The Stanford Reunion Homecoming team formed the jury for the competition, said Peter Litzow ‘18, the business director of EP.

EP parodied The Beatles’ “Yesterday” in their tribute. Mayuka Sarrukai ‘19, one of EP’s newest members and also the lyricist for the song, claims the process of writing the song was not very difficult. After the group was told about the contest, Mayuka sat down to procrastinate homework and came up with a song that would win Everyday People $1000.

In fact, EP’s “Yesterday” parody succeeded in leaving quite a lasting impact on Hennessy’s mind. He claimed that the song brought a tear to his wife’s eye, which included lines like “But you won’t fly too far from the/ Tree Oh, we will miss you Hennessy” and “We know you’ll make a change/ In this world, oh Hennessy.” For Hennessy, what struck the strongest chord was the line, “Oh we’ll always beat Berkeley.”

Having sung covers of other artists in the past, the competition provided a unique opportunity, said Megan Calfas ‘18, the lyricist for MixedCo. “[The competition] was a cool way to be a part of the reunion celebrations and the President’s last year,” Calfas said.

As far as the lyrics writing went, Calfas tried to include facts about Hennessy and her own Stanford experiences to come up with MixedCo’s “No one Like Hennessy,” sung to the tune of Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be.”  She said that  Hennessy’s ear-to-ear smile and his excitement as they sang was reward enough for her.

Hennessy specifically mentioned the Stanford Mendicants, whose song he thought was very funny. As for himself, Hennessy claimed not to be as talented as any of the a cappella singers.

“No, I can’t sing,” he said. “So it’s very dangerous.”

The melodious performances by the a cappella groups were followed by a hip-hop flash mob that had children and adults dancing with equal enthusiasm. Hennessy, who was rather taken aback by the sudden display of energy, was astounded to see his wife jump down to the dance group.

The Band trotted in right after, playing “All Right Now.” Hennessy, who lifted the baton and turned band conductor for that moment, claimed that “the Band was always exciting.”

“I have developed so many relations with alumni and students over the years — I will miss those,” he said.

He ended the speech he gave at the party with a message for all the students. “These four years will go off very quickly, so make the best of them,” Hennessy said.

 

Contact Simar Malhotra at simar ‘at ‘ stanford.edu.

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