New leaders elected to Union
Round two of Student Union spring elections took place last Thursday from midnight to midnight, leaving three of the 14 available positions vacant by the end of the day. The Associate Justice of the Union Judiciary, Senator-at-Large and Racial Minority Senator positions remain unfilled.
One of the two seats for Senator at Large was filled by Daniel Schwab '14, while the other remains vacant. The second seat was not filled due to the fact that 33 percent of voters chose abstain, making abstain the second most popular choice. Schwab was unable to comment by press time.
Andre Ve Tran and Annie Chen filled the Class of 2014 Senator positions. According to both Ve Tran and Chen, the two are looking forward to working together next year and already have plans for new initiatives.
"I will continue to sit down with all our graduating Student Union members and discuss the work they have done this past year," wrote Ve Tran in an email to the Justice. "I would like to not only work on my own initiatives but continue and complete projects my predecessors started."
Chen said she plans to get acclimated as quickly as possible. "The first thing I'll probably do is go around and collect knowledge, information, and tips from all our current senators to compile a scrapbook/'cheat sheet' as a resource for future senators," she wrote in an email to the Justice.
Anna Bessendorf and Alison Zheng filled the Class of 2015 Senator positions.
Bessendorf said she looks forward to increasing sustainability on campus.
"When the administration announces their choice for our dining services provider, the first thing I'd like to do is to meet with them to discuss tangible improvements that can be made to the quality and sustainability of the food we eat," Bessendorf wrote in an email to the Justice.
Zheng said she looks forward to working closely with the student body as a member of the Union. "The first thing is definitely to do some research on what people want and need so I can better voice their opinions," she wrote in an email to the Justice.
Jon Jacob and Andrew Chang filled the Class of 2016 Senator positions. Neither commented by press time.
Four out of five available seats for Associate Justice of the Student Union Judiciary were filled. Claire Sinai '15, Sarah Park '14, Maris Ryger-Wasserman '16 and Michael Abrams '15 were elected to the Union Judiciary.
The seats were not all filled due to the fact that 33 percent of voters chose abstain, making abstain the second most popular choice for Judiciary.
Abrams told the Justice that he looks forward to helping to ensure that Brandeis remains a just community.
"I want students to view the Union Judiciary as a forum where they can voice concerns about clubs, the Student Union, and the system that organizes all of this," wrote Abrams in an email to the Justice. "We as Justices are there to defend the Constitution and the Student Body, but we need student engagement and support to best achieve that end," he added.
The Racial Minority Senator position remains unfilled due to the fact that 31 percent of voters chose to abstain.
Special elections will be held in the fall for seats that remain unfilled following this round of elections.
Editor's note: Micahael Abrams '15 is a staff writer on Forum.
-Tate Herbert contributed reporting
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