The Student Union Senate chartered three new clubs and de-chartered ten inactive clubs at its first meeting of the semester on Oct. 1. The Senate also confirmed several new Executive Board members and a new Executive Senator.

One of the clubs that the Senate de-chartered was Archon, the Brandeis yearbook, which has been in production since 1950. According to Sherry Tao ’25, the chair of club support for E-Board, Archon members were aware of and accepted the proposal before it came before the Senate. Tao also said that the yearbook was not “financially sustainable” and lacked the necessary student interest to keep it running. Archon did not receive any funding from last year’s Marathon, the semesterly allocations process. 

The Senate voted by acclamation to de-charter Archon, as well as nine other groups which did not re-register at the beginning of the semester. The newly de-chartered clubs included Barbell Club, German Club, Students Demand Action, Fireside Theater Company, Society for International Affairs, Water Polo Club, Krav Maga, Rotaract, and Badminton Club.

Jack Granahan ’26 and Parker Press ’25 requested that the Senate charter the Pickleball Club, which gained probationary status at the beginning of last semester. According to Granahan, the club’s purpose is to give students an opportunity to play pickleball and also to supply the necessary equipment for students that do not already have their own.

The Senate chartered Pickleball Club by acclamation.

Ofri Levisohn ’25 requested that the senate charter Mishelanu, the Israeli cultural club. Levisohn said that Mishelanu provides a place for students to learn about and engage with Israeli culture and the Hebrew language.

The Senate chartered Mishelanu by acclamation.

Leo Zhang ’25 and Sydney Cohen ’25 requested that the Senate charter Students for Environmental Action, which they said will focus on the climate crisis, including environmental racism and environmental justice. In their presentation, Zhang and Cohen showed pictures from SEA’s trip to New York City for the March to End Fossil Fuels last semester.

The Senate chartered SEA by acclamation.

The Senate also confirmed Lexi Lazar ’24 as chief of staff, Sherry Tao ’25 as director of club support, Ifigenia Oxyzolou ’25 as director of sustainability, Kai Kibilko ’25 as director of campus life, Bhakti Parwani ’25 as director of academic affairs, and David Cahn ’26 as director of accessibility. President Noah Risley ’24 appointed each nominee, and the Senate had the responsibility to determine whether or not to confirm them. All of the appointees made a brief speech to the Senate, and after each speech the candidate left the room so the senators could vote.

The Senate confirmed all of the E-Board members by acclamation.

During the meeting, Vice President Erica Hwang ’25 asked for senators to run for the position of Executive Senator, a position which only other senators vote for. The executive senator serves as the Senate representative to the executive board and takes notes during senate meetings. Three senators, Chloe Doonan ’26, Matthew Norris ’26, and Samuel Calel ’27, quickly came up with pitches for why they should take the position. The Senate voted anonymously via Slack messages to Hwang, and chose Norris as the executive senator.