I was involved in the Associated Students of Stanford University, the "student government." It's an independent non-profit, but also recognized by the University, and constantly on the edge of being consumed by the admin bureaucracy. I made an explicit effort to spend funds in a way that was specifically targeted at "fun" programming, but in retrospect I should probably have been more radical.

Also interesting to see the traction Eva (the author of the Palladium article) has gotten. She has a complicated reputation, but I'm glad to see a major constructive contribution.

Any Alumni in the Bay who want to help support student self-administration, I encourage you to reach out to the ASSU. It's an institution perpetually lacking wisdom (like any student group).