Last night, Student Union President Ricky Rosen '14 recapped the University's and Union's major changes and accomplishments during his term as president during the biannual State of the Union address.

Speaking to a crowd of students in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium, Rosen looked back on what he called the "most transformative" year for the University he has seen during his Brandeis career. Many of the major changes seen by the Brandeis community include changes to dining, transportation and budget transparency.

Specifically, the University saw the arrival of Sodexo as the new dining services provider and the addition of several new dining locations. The University also saw the arrival of Joseph's Transportation as the new shuttle service provider, as well as both recent and anticipated changes to the mailroom, health center and bookstore.

Changes in University administration and staff also marked this past year. Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins, Dean of Admissions Mark Spencer and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer all left the University, while it welcomed Sheila McMahon as its first sexual assault services and prevention specialist and James W. Gray as the vice president for operations, as announced yesterday in an email to the Brandeis community from Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Manos.

Regarding the numerous changes made to dining services over the past year, Rosen thanked those who were involved in those processes and relayed the feedback he has received from "satisfied" students. As for future changes, Rosen stated that plans to renovate the Stein into a sports bar will be fully implemented by the 2015 to 2016 academic year.

Rosen also reflected on the upcoming meal plan changes, including plans to make them mandatory for all students living on campus starting the 2016 to 2017 academic year. Rosen stated that the Union and the Senate Dining Committee is advocating for an "affordable alternative" to the new options for students heavily supported by financial aid, which they hope to have ready by the time mandatory meal plans come into effect.

Other changes include those made to transportation, including the expansion of Boston and Cambridge shuttle hours, the addition of weekend shuttle service to the Riverside Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station, and the creation of an online BranVan reservation system and those made to the Student Union's constitution approved by 74 percent of the student body who voted, which were proposed by a Constitutional Review Task Force formed last semester.

Throughout his speech, Rosen repeatedly affirmed the Student Union's commitment to voicing the concerns of the student body to the administration. One such concern was budget transparency, which Rosen said the Union made a "fundamental priority." Rosen recapped ways the Union provided opportunities for students to discuss these issues with senior administrators, such as last month's town hall meeting and roundtable discussion.

While Rosen addressed many issues he had planned to take on at the beginning of his term, he also stated that he found himself working on an unexpected issue: parking. In collaboration with the Graduate Student Association and University administrators, the Union worked to look into student dissatisfaction with the amount of parking available and possible solutions.

A task force formed came up with a "comprehensive proposal," which was submitted to the administration last week. The proposal calls for a long-term investigation into the construction of a parking lot, optimization of current spaces and the creation of a system with "rationed" and "premium" parking, that would charge students at different rates based on their proximity to certain lots.

Rosen reported that the administration was "very receptive" to these recommendations and the Union will work to have some of these changes implemented within the next two years.

Rosen also announced plans to form a gender and sexuality center and coordinator position, spearheaded by Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Alex Thomson '15. Rosen thanked Thompson and members of the administration for their work bringing this project to reality.

During the latter portion of his speech, Rosen reflected on annual Student Union initiatives, such as the Thanksgiving shuttles, the course evaluation guide, the "Take Your Professor Out to Lunch" vouchers, 'Deis Day and 'Deis Impact and thanked those involved. Before closing his portion, Rosen extended gratitude to current members of the senate and honored those graduating this year.

After Rosen's speech, current Union Secretary and President-elect Sneha Walia '15 took a few moments to address the audience. During Walia's address, she expressed gratitude and excitement for her upcoming term and listed her major goals and initiatives. Among them, she announced plans to revise the petition process and create a documentation system for student concerns and feedback, working with student groups on diversity-related issues, and informing the student body about major initiatives at the beginning of the year.

-Joshua Linton contributed reporting.