Stanford in Government (SIG), established in 1963, is a nonpartisan, student-run organization that promotes political awareness and involvement among the Stanford community. As one of Stanford's largest and oldest student organizations, SIG seeks to accomplish this mission by organizing a variety of civic education, public service, and community involvement opportunities for the student body.
Civic Education. Our programming branch has two committees that work to increase political awareness on the Stanford campus. The Public Policy Forum Committee, seeks to connect students with policymakers and journalists who work at the state, national and international level. The Campus Awareness Committee looks to provide current events information to students and to offer greater opportunities for students to engage with professors on public affairs topics. Some highlights from the past year include:
- “Big Speaker” event with John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee
- Weekly lunches with visiting journalists at the Hoover Institution
- Panels on education reform and the future of the Supreme Court
- Weekly “Policy Lunches” with professors
Fellowships. SIG’s Fellowships Program offers over thirty opportunities—locally, nationally, and internationally—for students to work in public service over the summer. SIG has established relationships with host organizations and we work to ensure that fellows will engage in substantial activities throughout the summer. Fellows are also given a stipend of $4000, funded through endowments that are administered by the Haas Center for Public Service.
Stanford students can apply to our fellowships during the winter quarter by first submitting a written application, complete with an essay and faculty recommendations. For each fellowship, five students will be selected for a final round interview, which will be conducted by members of SIG, the past fellow, and the faculty advisor for that fellowship. Selections will be announced before the end of winter quarter.
Community Service. The Campus and Community Partnerships Committee seeks to provide civic education for the larger Stanford community. In the past, it has helped prepare Stanford workers for their citizenship tests. This year, it will be expanding its geographic reach to include East Palo Alto, where it will teach a civic education course in the East Palo Alto Charter School. It will also be working with the East Palo Alto Community Legal Services to create a “Know Your Rights” pamphlet to teach minors their legal rights, especially when stopped by the police.
SIG is fortunate to be supported by and housed within the Haas Center for Public Service. In addition to being able to interact and work with such a wonderful and friendly staff at the Haas Center, their advice and logistical support for SIG programs is invaluable.
We are also thankful to The Stanford Fund for recognizing the value of our organization's contributions to the university through its annual gifts.