In the second round of elections, which began last Thursday at midnight and ended last Friday at midnight, class senators, senators-at-large and associate justices for the 2014 to 2015 academic year were elected. Only one seat, one of the Class of 2016 senator positions, was left vacant.

Current Class of 2015 Senators Caiwei Zheng and Anna Bessendorf were both re-elected. Bessendorf and Zheng were the only two candidates running for the position of Class of 2015 senator. Bessendorf received 139 votes, 67 percent of the total pool, while Zheng received 111 votes, or 54 percent.
Bessendorf wrote in an email to the Justice that she looks forward to continuing her efforts within the Senate Sustainability Committee. "[W]e've created a lot of positive momentum with Facilities and the [Brandeis Sustainability Fund], in terms of learning about resource usage on campus, and we plan to publish all that information so that students can be a little more aware about how this campus runs," she wrote. Bessendorf also wrote about several initiatives that she would like to implement through the committee next year, including subsidized Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passes for students.

Zheng wrote in an email to the Justice that she is excited to start her third year in the Student Union next year. "[C]onsidering it would be my senior year and my last year in the union I would definitely want to focus on initiative [sic.] that have lasting influence," she wrote. Zheng wrote that she would most like to push for further renovation of the Goldman-Schwartz Art Studios. "It is one of the buildings that needs updating the most. Especially considering the safety concerns it raises," she wrote.

Nyah Macklin '16 was elected to one of the Class of 2016 senator positions with 112 votes, or 43 percent. Ninety-seven students, or 37 percent of those that voted for this position, elected to abstain. Thus, only one Class of 2016 Senator seat was filled. Brianna Majsiak '16 received the next highest amount of votes at 75, or 29 percent. According to Student Union President Ricky Rosen '14, an election to fill the second seat will take place as a part of the regular fall elections, during which the Class of 2018 senator positions and quad senators positions will be filled.

As a transfer student, Macklin wrote in an email to the Justice that she is "looking forward to getting to know the friends that I have yet to meet, and in doing so make every single member of our class feel comfortable enough to come to me, with whatever concerns or praises they have about their Brandeis experience.

"As soon as every student feels comfortable approaching the people who represent them, and that goes up the chain, all the way up to University President Frederick Lawrence and the Board of Trustees, the sooner our students can feel like a real, collaborative community," Macklin added.

Macklin wrote that her primary initiative is to "build a foundation for those who follow in my footsteps to create a tangible change on this campus." She wrote that she will be working to create a series of on-campus community-building initiatives to draw attention to groups that sometimes go unrecognized.

Class of 2017 Senator Benjamin Margolin was re-elected. Brittany Finney '17 will fill the other Class of 2017 senator position. Finney received 168 votes, or 52 percent, while Margolin received 161 votes, or 50 percent. The third candidate, Ashley Morales '17, received 113 votes, or 35 percent.

Margolin wrote in an email to the Justice that because he won a special election and joined the Senate later on in the academic year, "I found that I only recently have gotten into the swing of things, and I'm looking forward to putting that experience to good use in full force starting from day one of next semester."

Some of Margolin's planned initiatives include continuing to bridge the gap between the Jewish and Hispanic communities on campus. "Because of deeply rooted cultural ties, I think we have more in common than people believe, and we can use that to strengthen our Brandeis community as a whole," he wrote. Margolin also wrote that he would like to help raise school spirit on campus. "Because of all of our amazing clubs/organizations on campus, people tend to feel a connection only to one particular group, instead of the university as a whole. I simply want to channel students' passions from one specific thing, to a greater good," he wrote.

Finney wrote in an email to the Justice that, while campaigning for Class of 2017 Senator, she "gathered as many concerns that the class members of 2017 could inform [her] of and formed a campaign circling around three values: honesty, diversity, and spirit." She wrote that she hopes to improve transparency regarding all of the Senate's decisions.

"Additionally, I want to increase the amount of diversity related events, being that some diversities seem to be [more] underrepresented than others," she wrote. Finney also added that she also wants to work on expanding school spirit, specifically by planning a school-wide event that will boost spirit, similar to 'Deis Day.

Current Senator-at-Large Naomi DePina '16 was re-elected. Current North Quad Senator Brian Hough '17 will fill the other senator-at-large position. DePina received 367 votes, or 43 percent, while Hough received 298 votes, or 35 percent. Current Class of 2017 Senator David Heaton received the third highest number of votes at 253, or 30 percent.

"As Senator for the entire student body, I want to ensure that all students have a Senator who will advocate for what is important to them. I also want to work to improve the dialogue between students, the Student Union, and the administration," Hough wrote in an email to the Justice. Hough also wrote that he wants to improve on-campus, specifically by advocating for more options on campus, as well as more vegetarian, vegan and food-sensitive options. He also wrote that he plans advocate for the installment of more energy-efficient light bulbs, putting more recycling containers on campus and working to help reduce Brandeis' carbon footprint.

"I also plan to help with improving the Constitution, proposing amendments and bylaw amendments to ensure that the Senate and Student Union continue to work efficiently and productively," Hough wrote. He also wants to help improve first-year, midyear and transfer transitions to Brandeis, and host more student-wide events on campus.

DePina could be reached for comment by press time.

Marlharrissa Lagardere '16 won the racial minority senator seat, with 92, or 32 percent, of the votes. Lagardere wrote in an email to the Justice that her main goals are to work alongside Dean of Students Jamele Adams "to make certain that Brandeis University creates an safe atmosphere that allows for open dialogue and discourse revolving around race and resolving issues that occur amongst scholars of color." She wrote that she would also like to "require a stronger inclusion of scholars of colors ideas and opinions within the Student Union."

Brian Dorfman '16, Gali Gordon '15, Alex Rahmanan '17, Alina Cheema '15 and current Chief Justice Claire Sinai '15 were elected to fill the five associate justice positions. Seven candidates ran for the positions. Dorfman received the most votes with 330 votes, or 38 percent. Sinai received 321 votes, or 37 percent. Rahmanan received 312 votes, or 36 percent, while Gordon also received about 36 percent of the votes with 315 votes. Cheema received 268 votes, or 31 percent.

Dorfman wrote in an email to the Justice that although he is excited about winning, "what excites me more is that more than a quarter of the Brandeis undergraduate population came out to vote this election day." Dorfman wrote that his plan as an associate justice is to "do some strong constitutionally backed decision-making."

Rahmanan wrote in an email to the Justice that after losing to the abstain option in February's special election for the Student Union Judiciary, "running again in last week's election wasn't even a question."

As an associate justice, Rahmanan wrote that he hopes to "help solve any club, Union, or club member disputes as quickly, and efficiently as possible.

"There may be some cleaning up that needs to be done around Brandeis' realm of student life, and as a Justice, solving these problems will be my number one priority," he added.
Sinai wrote in an email to the Justice that she is "excited" to serve on the Student Judiciary for a fourth year running.

Cheema wrote in an email to the Justice that as an associate justice, she hopes "to always maintain a safe and fair environment and, with my best effort, to fulfill all my responsibilities." She stated that her main goal is to make decisions that benefit the whole student body.

Gordon could not be reached for comment by press time.