The Brandeis University Student Union Senate reconvened on March 16 at 7:05 p.m. for its weekly meeting.

The meeting started with a presentation from Student Union Allocations Board Co-Chair Marley Wilson ’26. In his presentation he emphasized that chartering clubs is the responsibility of the Student Senate, but also made clear that in order for A-board to fund all of Brandeis’ clubs’ needs, they need to be more restrictive on the amount of clubs being chartered. This year 128 clubs requested a total of $1.85 million, a fund which usually remains fixed. He stated that there are more clubs being chartered than unchartered. This leads to more clubs being given less funding. He also said that there are multiple instances of clubs having overlapping purposes, which goes against Student Union bylaws. This sentiment was supported by Executive Senator Daniel Shin ’27 who said that the Senate should focus more on clubs being unique when considering the club’s status. He added that the rules for this process should be stricter. A senator asked if they had access to club-specific data and Shin responded that the Department of Student Engagement had not released that to any specific club. A question came up about the previous meeting and debate during which probationary status was granted to Jewish on Campus. After a brief discussion, it was concluded that the Student Union will need to think more carefully before granting clubs probationary/chartered status. Another senator asked about the de-chartering process and Wilson claimed that that it is not something the Allocations Board was looking to do and is more about evaluating future clubs for chartering. Shin then said that there are many clubs within different general categories that have overlap with events of equal interest. However Shin said he could not specify what those clubs were. Head of Health and Wellness committe Sarah Jafary ’28 then asked if they could be uncharted if they have a duality of purpose. Shin answered that only clubs that violate rules can be de-chartered. Senator at-Large Luke Farberman ’27 asked about potential club mergers. Shin said that he would get back to him after his meeting with the Department of Student Engagement. Jafary then asked when marathon decisions would come out and Wilson gave a timeline of mid-April. 

Student Union Vice President Escamilla-Gil ’27 then asked for questions and comments regarding the executive board report and then moved on to discuss that the Student Union has a negative budget meaning they are in a deficit. Lucas Gordon ’26 asked if this would lead to a shutdown. Shin followed up with this later in the meeting and asked to reallocate the Student Senate’s money to the Student Union executive board due to a negative budget. He emphasized that they have collaborations with other student groups and the Hiatt Career Center. The vote passed unanimously by affirmation. 

Shin then discussed the de-chartering of Impact Club after he had tried contacting the board multiple times with a lack of response and their CampusGroups page had not been updated since Spring 2024. This passed with a unanimous vote of affirmation. 

The Student Union then said they would be scheduling their State of the Union on April 1 in the Mandel Center for the Humanities Atrium.

Committee reports followed the A-board’s presentation. Jafary said after the April break the Wellness Committee would work on a wellness event. Jake Rosen ’27 said they set up a meeting with Harvest Table this week. The Club Advocacy Committee shared they are collaborating on an event with the Disabled Students Network and are developing a resolution to support transgender athletes. Then, Gordon talked about the Undergraduate Transportation Fund and whether it should be in the bylaws. He then asked if Deepa Khatri, Associate Director for Budget and Operations in the Department of Student Engagement had concerns with this. He talked about a potential collaboration with the Hiatt Career Center for splitting the costs. A Senator said it was outside of their purview.

Class of 2028 Senator Himanshu Sahore ’28 discussed the Boston Intercollegiate Government. He requested a $52 membership fee to be a part of the consortium. Sahore said he joined a Zoom meeting every two weeks and they support Boston area schools on issues such as getting involved in the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s Semester Pass program. Farberman Student Union has historically paid dues to the Boston Intercollegiate Government. International Senator Gianna Crisha Saludo ’28 then asked if there were more representatives to the Boston Intercollegiate Government and Sahore answered by saying that there could be two voting representatives from Brandeis and unlimited delegates. Escamilla-Gil then asked the Student Senate to expedite the process which was passed unanimously by affirmation.

The meeting concluded with Shin sharing that there’s a club resource room cleanup on Wednesday and asked if senators could join. The meeting was then adjourned.