There are 33 students running for 15 of the 16 open positions on the Student Union, including the senators for the Classes of 2010, 2012 and 2013, as well as all residence quads, in the upcoming Student Union elections, according to an e-mail from Student Union Secretary Diana Aronin '11 to the Justice Sept. 11. Polls will open at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17 and will remain open for 24 hours. According to Aronin's e-mail, the results will be announced shortly after the election except in races that require final rounds. "The final round will contain the candidates who place first or second in the primary round" unless one of the candidates receives a majority of votes in the primary round, according to the contract distributed at an informational meeting for candidates Sept. 9. Any race in which one person is running uncontested or where there are only two candidates will not have a final round.

In addition to senators for the residence quads and Classes of 2010, 2012 and 2013, positions are open for senator for the Transitional Year Program, senator-at-large and senator for off-campus students.

There is no candidate running for senator for the Foster Mods, but Aronin told the Justice that should a candidate step forward at any time, a special election will be held. Some candidates shared their thoughts on what changes they would like to initiate. "I want to be more eco-friendly," said Yahav Itzkovich '13, who is running for the position of senator for North Quad. "There's so much wasted water. . Especially now, when half the world's drying up, I think we can be more responsible about our water usage."

Michael Sklaroff '13, who is also running for North Quad senator, voiced similar sentiments: "I just want to make the campus greener." He added that "certain issues, such as the restrictive hours of the libraries and the fact that freshmen aren't allowed to have cars on campus, . are extremely important to resolve." Jordan Pardo '13, who is running for Massell Quad senator, discussed his desire to get involved in the Brandeis community and in Waltham by joining efforts such as the Hunger Project. The Hunger Project is "a global, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger," according to its Web site.

Brendan Fradkin '12, a candidate for the senator for the Class of 2012, discussed a plan to "improve [academic] counseling and open up some more accessibility to the people who really know the topics, maybe have the registrar do a few information sessions" to explain the process of declaring majors and minors, which Fradkin feels many of his peers are unclear about even though all sophomores must declare a major by the end of this year.

Leigh Nusbaum '11, who is running for the position of senator for the Village, discussed her desire to represent students hoping to study abroad in the fall because they represent such a large portion of the Village's population. She also wants to represent the midyears because they will be living in the Village during the spring semester and a midyear may be taking over her position if she goes abroad next semester.

Jordan Caruso '11, who is running for the position of off-campus senator, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "It's important to represent off-[campus] students because even if they do live off campus, they are still Brandeis Students with issues both common and unique to those of other Brandeis students, i.e. Parking Issues."

"Even though we're only freshmen, I think there's an important role to play," said Nathan Koskella '13, a candidate for senator for the Class of 2013. "I want to find out more about . how the administration can make things known to students, not just drop decisions from on high, . so students actually have an input in the middle of the process."

Ryan Fanning '11, who is running for the position of Ziv Quad senator, explained why he wanted to be a part of the Student Union: "I decided that it was time to serve my class, my quad and, in the big picture, the school to which I go. It was important to me to give back a little bit to an institution that's given me so much.