Three campaigns, three visions: ASSU Executive candidates make their case

Three slates have emerged as contenders for president and vice president of Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) ahead of this week’s election. The Daily sat down for interviews with all three candidates to learn more about their policy objectives. The candidates also fielded questions about their record, campaign and motivations for seeking public office.

Jared Hammerstrom ’27 and Celeste Vargas ’27 are running for president and vice president, respectively, on the “FARM-RAISED” ticket. Hammerstrom is a junior hailing from Atlanta, Ga. studying international relations and economics. According to Hammerstrom, a fencer and member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, “the one thing that stands out about Stanford is this… collaborative approach.” Hammerstrom has served the past two years on the Undergraduate Senate (UGS), first as chair of the Administration and Rules Committee and presently as UGS treasurer. 

Vargas is from Turlock, Calif., which she described as “a small, rural town where a lot of people grow almonds.” According to Vargas, she and Hammerstrom are running to drive change. “We don’t care about the title. We care about what the title gives us the power to do,” Vargas said. Vargas also served for two years on UGS, where she most recently served as chair of appropriations, and is a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.

“No Brakes” includes Madhav Prakash ’27 running for President and Eva Lacy ’27 running for Vice President. Prakash, an international student from India, is a junior who took a gap year to “travel the world and work some super jobs across three continents.” A former social chair of Kappa Sigma, Prakash is currently a junior class president and served as the ASSU director of social life and inclusivity this year.

Lacy, who grew up north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, said that she and Prakash entered Stanford “on the tails of that whole ‘Stanford hates fun’ campaign,” referring to the ongoing complaints from students that the University has increased their crackdown on student events and Greek life. As a junior studying economics and public policy, as well as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and Sierra Camp, Eva recounted a range of experiences that supported her in her mission to “[bring] back a Stanford that is fun and zany and offers something for everyone.” Lacy has not served in an elected capacity within ASSU, but is a member of the Social Life and Inclusivity committee.

The “BUILT DIFFERENT” ticket is composed of Jake Hofman ’27 running for president and Angikar Ghosal Ph.D. ’27 running for vice president. Hofman — a professional magician who has worked at the Magic Castle in Hollywood — is a junior studying economics. A transfer student from Pasadena City College, he explained that he was running for office because he “came through a different door than the traditional path and noticed struggles being a transfer… and similarities in terms of graduate students and internationals.” Those experiences made him “want to run to help advocate for… changes,” he said. 

A Ph.D. student at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and a master’s student in statistics, Ghosal is an international student from India who graduated from Duke University. “I think it is an important time for graduate students, undergraduate students, faculty and everyone to work together and figure out what the meaning of a Stanford degree [is],” he said. Neither Hofman nor Ghosal have served in student government at Stanford. Ghosal writes for The Daily’s news section.

Prakash called into question whether Hammerstrom and Vargas were responsible for the allocation of student funds on UGS. “I think, for example, when [FARM RAISED] post in their campaign that they have funded $10 million worth of fun in the past two years, quoting the entire Senate appropriations budget for two years, that’s a gross mischaracterization,” Prakash said. 

Vargas is currently the Chair of Appropriations for UGS, which oversaw the approval of six million dollars in funding for Voluntary Student Organizations this past year. Hammerstrom was Deputy Chair of Appropriations during his first year. Hammerstrom and Vargas wrote to the Daily that they “have led the dispersal of over ten million dollars across the last two academic years.” In Prakash’s view, however, the full-time adult staff of ASSU (SSE) are ultimately responsible for the dispersal of these funds. 

Ghosal announced plans to fund a Clipper Card program. “We will reserve around $15,000 of the ACSU Executive Discretionary Budget next year to negotiate the favorable rate for students who wish to make use of the opportunity,” Ghosal said.

Free speech was an important policy topic for each of the campaigns. For Hammerstrom and Vargas, certain administrative restrictions were “absurd.” They referenced one University rule that states, “amplified sound and other loud noise (above 60 decibels) is only permitted between 12:00 p.m. -1:00 p.m. (Monday-Friday).”

“Student activism is the grassroots to so many wonderful movements,” Hammerstrom said. 

Prakash and Lacy outlined a plan to lead negotiations for changes to free speech policies. “Over two years of close collaboration, we’ve established strong, trust-based and competence-driven relationships with key administrative stakeholders,” Prakash wrote to The Daily. 

Hofman described similar efforts to push for expanded free speech policies. “It’s just a matter of how hard you push and what kinds of people… you build the right team to execute that,” he said.

Supporting student life is another key role of the ASSU president and vice president.

Hofman addressed the importance of supporting row life and described meeting with leaders of fraternities and sororities to gauge needs. “We will always advocate for housing the current unhoused Greek organizations,” he said. 

Naming several Stanford traditions, including Flicks, Day N Mayfield and Full Moon on the Quad, Hammerstrom said, “These events really are an integral part of the Stanford student experience.” At the same time, Vargas stressed the importance of policy, criticizing her opponents. “The No Brakes campaign is running a class presidential campaign,” she said. Hammerstrom expanded on this criticism, saying, “I think that Madhav and Eva really think that this is a glorified event planning role.” 

In response, Madhav wrote to The Daily that “any misunderstandings of the scope of the role, or whether passing ornamental resolutions in the senate prepares you for it, are entirely on their end.”

Prakash also questioned whether Hammerstrom and Vargas were responsible for the allocation of student funds on UGS. “I think, for example, when [FARM RAISED] post in their campaign that they have funded $10 million worth of fun in the past two years, quoting the entire Senate appropriations budget for two years, that’s a gross mischaracterization,” Prakash said. 

Vargas is currently the chair of appropriations for UGS, which oversaw the approval of six million dollars in funding for voluntary student organizations (VSOs) this past year. Hammerstrom was deputy chair of appropriations during his first year. Hammerstrom and Vargas wrote to the Daily that they “have led the dispersal of over ten million dollars across the last two academic years.” In Prakash’s view, however, the full-time adult staff of ASSU (SSE) are ultimately responsible for the dispersal of these funds.

Prakash added that he “allocated $40,000 worth of funding when [he] was [studying] abroad” toward campus traditions and Row programming. Prakash and Lacy have helped host several events on campus, including a major role in planning Full Moon on the Quad and Row Trick or Treat.

The Daily previously reported that the Elections Commission found an Instagram post by No Brakes to be an election violation. Prakash and Lacy had made their campaign account a collaborator on a post advertising Full Moon on the Quad. The Commission ordered the slate to “either delete the post or remove @nobrakesforstanford as a collaborator,” according to an email reviewed by The Daily. The Commission confirmed that the account was removed as a collaborator on the post within half an hour of the notice.

“We see the inequity in hindsight,” Prakash said regarding the violation.

No Brakes acknowledged violating the rule a second time when they used their junior class president account to repost a campaign video from their campaign account. In response, the Elections Commission sanctioned Prakash and Lacy to take down the repost, and repost campaign videos from @farmraised4exec and BUILT DIFFERENT. The Elections Commission also penalized Prakash and Lacy, resulting in a $150 decrease to their public financing. Prakash and Lacy said the violation was an oversight. “We should have been more aware and we regret the mistake of the second violation,” Prakash said.

All three campaigns committed to attending faculty senate meetings, GSC meetings and UGS meetings, among other commitments, if elected this Friday. Addressing his attendance record, Hammerstrom stressed the importance of “showing up ready to work.” Prakash made a similar commitment. 

Hofman and Ghosal have not served in Stanford student government and therefore do not have attendance records, but vowed to attend all commitments.

A debate between the candidates — co-moderated by The Daily and the Elections Commission — will take place Tuesday at 5 p.m. in White Plaza. Voting will occur this Wednesday and Thursday, with results announced over the weekend.

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