I'm Áron Ricardo Perez-Lopez, a third-year PhD student in the Computer Science department. I served on the GSC last year as an at-large representative and co-chair. I'm running again for a term as a School of Engineering or at-large representative.
Last year, I worked with university leaders and offices on wide-ranging issues, including: lowering the cost of reserving space for student groups; clarification of various free speech policies and potential changes to the campus disruption policy; preserving institutions with great importance to students on campus, including the Bridge Peer Counseling Center and the annual Thanksgiving dinner for graduate student and their families; developing a common framework and set of guidelines for the many PhD rotational programs on campus; return of evening and late-night transportation options; improvements to campus infrastructure; increasing support for undocumented and international students; and many others.
Recognizing that many of our collective efforts are yet to bear fruit and require continuous fighting and advocacy, I would like to continue working on the above and other issues related to transportation, housing, affordability, and international as well as undocumented student concerns.
I advocate for a holistic approach to all modes of transportation that considers people walking, biking, driving, using mobility devices, public transit, and many others. I would like to continue working with students, staff, and faculty across campus on improvements to pathways, roads, and public transit. These could include separating bicycle and pedestrian traffic in conflict-prone areas, repaving low-quality segments of road, connecting disjoint pieces of bike paths and sidewalks, relocating obstructed bus stops, adding rain shelters, adjusting bus schedules to align with post-Covid commute times, extending Marguerite service hours to late nights and weekends, and exploring new service patterns.
I would like to help in making low-carbon-footprint modes of transportation like biking and public transit more affordable. Initiatives that could help with this include providing free helmets and bike lights, providing cheap and secure bike storage like bike rooms, bike lockers, and bike cages, subsidizing public transit passes (in addition to the GoPass program already available for off-campus grad students), and funding complementary services like airport shuttles. I would also like to help continue GSC's successful free bike repair events.
As an international student, I am also passionate about issues affecting students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. These include expanding informational resources and aid to students who don't (yet) have a specific legal concern or court case, addressing student concerns about the responsiveness and help received from the Bechtel Center, expanding and standardizing internship opportunities via Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for F-1 visa holders, as well as working to make part-time on- and off-campus employment during the academic year possible for more students.
I would like to see R&DE expand programs that can bring more affordable housing options to students, like the EVGR triples program, as well as subsidized off-campus housing that provides affordable apartments that are also located close to off-campus amenities like grocery stores, cafés, transit, etc. I would like LBRE to make the new MPS (mail and package) fee optional for students who don't wish to receive packages to their residence and guarantee that receiving USPS flat mail will continue to be perpetually available for free in any residence.
I aim to work with Stanford and the Graduate Workers union to provide equal opportunities for students who are determined to be outside of the bargaining unit as well as to make sure that any issues that are determined to be of an academic nature and hence not covered by the collective bargaining agreement are still addressed by Stanford administration.
Last year, I worked with university leaders and offices on wide-ranging issues, including: lowering the cost of reserving space for student groups; clarification of various free speech policies and potential changes to the campus disruption policy; preserving institutions with great importance to students on campus, including the Bridge Peer Counseling Center and the annual Thanksgiving dinner for graduate student and their families; developing a common framework and set of guidelines for the many PhD rotational programs on campus; return of evening and late-night transportation options; improvements to campus infrastructure; increasing support for undocumented and international students; and many others.
Recognizing that many of our collective efforts are yet to bear fruit and require continuous fighting and advocacy, I would like to continue working on the above and other issues related to transportation, housing, affordability, and international as well as undocumented student concerns.
I advocate for a holistic approach to all modes of transportation that considers people walking, biking, driving, using mobility devices, public transit, and many others. I would like to continue working with students, staff, and faculty across campus on improvements to pathways, roads, and public transit. These could include separating bicycle and pedestrian traffic in conflict-prone areas, repaving low-quality segments of road, connecting disjoint pieces of bike paths and sidewalks, relocating obstructed bus stops, adding rain shelters, adjusting bus schedules to align with post-Covid commute times, extending Marguerite service hours to late nights and weekends, and exploring new service patterns.
I would like to help in making low-carbon-footprint modes of transportation like biking and public transit more affordable. Initiatives that could help with this include providing free helmets and bike lights, providing cheap and secure bike storage like bike rooms, bike lockers, and bike cages, subsidizing public transit passes (in addition to the GoPass program already available for off-campus grad students), and funding complementary services like airport shuttles. I would also like to help continue GSC's successful free bike repair events.
As an international student, I am also passionate about issues affecting students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. These include expanding informational resources and aid to students who don't (yet) have a specific legal concern or court case, addressing student concerns about the responsiveness and help received from the Bechtel Center, expanding and standardizing internship opportunities via Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for F-1 visa holders, as well as working to make part-time on- and off-campus employment during the academic year possible for more students.
I would like to see R&DE expand programs that can bring more affordable housing options to students, like the EVGR triples program, as well as subsidized off-campus housing that provides affordable apartments that are also located close to off-campus amenities like grocery stores, cafés, transit, etc. I would like LBRE to make the new MPS (mail and package) fee optional for students who don't wish to receive packages to their residence and guarantee that receiving USPS flat mail will continue to be perpetually available for free in any residence.
I aim to work with Stanford and the Graduate Workers union to provide equal opportunities for students who are determined to be outside of the bargaining unit as well as to make sure that any issues that are determined to be of an academic nature and hence not covered by the collective bargaining agreement are still addressed by Stanford administration.
