The Union Senate passed a bylaw last Sunday disbanding the Senate Spirit Committee and establishing a Student Outreach Committee to bridge the gap between Union senators and the students they represent, according to Union Communications Director Jamie Ansorge '09.Student Union President Jason Gray '10, Ansorge and Executive Senator Eric Alterman '09 created the bylaw, which states that "The Senate Outreach Committee shall be composed of Senators and students who wish to foster a closer relationship between Student Union Officers and the Brandeis University Student Body."

At the last Senate meeting on Sunday Sept. 21 the bylaw was drafted and approved by a majority of the senators.

Ansorge wrote to the Justice that Gray decided at the beginning of the year that one of his priorities would be "connecting with students," since the Union, as a representative organization, is supposed to be engaged in constant dialogue with the student body.

After discussions with leaders in the Union Senate, Ansorge wrote that he decided the best way to reach this goal is to build an "outreach" committee-a close connection between the student body and its Union representatives.

The ultimate goal of the bylaw amendment, he wrote, is to replace the Student Spirit Committee with the Outreach Committee. He said he "believes that school spirit and support for our athletic teams is very important . [but] outreach provides a more measurable benefit to the community than does spirit."

The goal of the Spirit Committee was, according to the initial wording of Article VI, section 5 of the Union Constitution bylaws, to "enhance and encourage spirit on campus" by working with athletic teams, clubs and other groups on social, academic or sporting programs and events, and by at least one pep rally per academic year.

Alterman, who was part of the Spirit Committee two years ago, said the Spirit Committee had not achieved a lot recently. The job of the committee was to foster spirit, but it had not become particularly adept at doing so, he said.

At last Sunday's meeting, some senators said they still saw the need for the Spirit Committee, and Senator for the Class of 2011 Alex Melman suggested that the Senate could still fund activities to encourage University spirit through the Senate Discretionary Fund.

Ansorge wrote that the connection between students and their Union representatives is not extremely weak right now, but "the Union has sometimes shown a tendency to become internalized in its operations, . [and] outreach is vital in providing an effective and accountable government."

Alterman wrote that "last year was difficult in terms of perception of the Union, and the bylaw will do a lot to improve the connection between the student union and the student body."

Ansorge wrote that the bylaw is expected to "increase the Union's ability to meet student needs, and the Union's accessibility in general . [by] building a culture of direct dialogue and advocacy between students and their Union representatives."

Ansorge wrote that the Union will fulfill these promises through meet- the-officer events every semester, where students will have specific interactions with their representatives, physical outreach projects like maintaining a Union billboard; and consistent dormstorming, which is talking to students in their dorms, to get a sense of students' ideas. He wrote that he wants the committee to "help revive the previously successful 'Stall Street Journal,' which provided Union news and opportunities to students through a bi-monthly publication in student bathrooms."

He wrote that the Union is "discussing alternate ways to support school spirit" and wrote in an e-mail to the Justice yesterday that last Sunday the Union chartered the Students Supporting Athletics club, which may take on some of the roles of the Spirit Committee.