On Thursday, the Senate met to swear in new members and discuss the Student Union code of conduct for senators.

Student Union Vice President Dennis Hermida-Gonzalez ’17 called the meeting to order, and Executive Senator David Herbstritt ’17 made a motion to swear in the new senators. The new senators included Class of 2019 Senators Kate Kesselman and Nathan Geess, North Quad Senator Hannah Brown ’19, Castle Quad Senator Max Whitmore ’18, Village Quad Senator Abhishek Kulkarni ’18, Ziv Quad Senator Karina Patino Mazmanian ’16 and Off-Campus Community Senator Sam Krystal ’17. Once the new members had taken the oath of office, the Senate then moved on to the next order of business.

Representatives from the Brandeis Zionist Alliance sought to change the name of their club to the Israeli Culture Club. The Senate voted unanimously in favor of the change. Next, representatives from the Ballet Club sought to amend the club’s constitution to allow for the formation of an audition-based dance group. The club currently offers weekly classes with a dance instructor but wished to become more performance-based with the addition of a separate group, though the representatives noted that they would still be offering the classes. The representatives were then asked to leave the room while the senators deliberated. Some senators brought up the issue of the Student Union chartering a club that holds auditions and does not admit all students wishing to join. Others argued that the formation of an audition-based group within the current confines of the club would not be any more exclusive than a capella and improvisation groups, which hold tryouts but do not prohibit any students from participating in some form.

After the brief discussion, the Senate voted unanimously in favor of the change, though Hermida-Gonzalez and Herbstritt both noted that the issue of additional funding would be up to the Allocations Board.

The Senate then moved into executive officer reports. Justin Carlisle ’13, the Student Union Chief of Staff, discussed the mandatory Student Union retreat, which took place this past weekend. According to Carlisle, the goal of the retreat was to “establish a better, tight-knit community.”

Next, Hermida-Gonzalez introduced himself to the new members, also taking the opportunity to urge other senators that the Student Union could accomplish “anything we set our minds to.”

Herbstritt and Hermida-Gonzalez then handed out the SU code of conduct, going through the requirements of office point-by-point. Though they acknowledged that academics take priority over Student Union matters, both stated that Student Union is a heavy commitment and must be taken seriously. They urged senators to communicate and check in with Student Union leadership whenever they have a time conflict or any other issue and also advised that senators put thought into whatever they post online, as it may reflect poorly on them individually or in the Student Union.

The next item on the agenda was discussing the various Senate committees. Hermida-Gonzalez stated that he hoped to be appointing new committee chairs at the next Senate meeting and went on to name all the committees available to senators. The Senate then moved on to new business, discussing the Student Union website, which Carlisle noted should be up and running sometime in the next week. He asked the senators for short biographies to be included on the website. Herbstritt concluded the meeting by discussing mandatory office hours for Senators. He noted that each senator is required to hold three office hours per week for constituents, and that those hours could not be done over the Internet.