Brandeis’s Student Union unveiled its new website to the public on Nov. 4, updating its internet presence in content, style and substance. According to Student Union President Nyah Macklin ’16, the new webpage seeks to improve the Student Union’s transparency and act as a more comprehensive source of information for the Brandeis student community on their representative body.

“We want to be seen as role models for both our peers and for other student governments across the northeast and one day, across the nation. It’s a tall order. But this year is just the first step in the right direction,” asserted Macklin on the significance of the new website in an email to the Justice.

The new Student Union website homepage opens to a blue and white theme reminiscent of the University colors. Additionally, situated directly under the large blue words “Your Student Union” at the top of the homepage rests the question, “We are here to serve you from orientation to graduation and beyond. How?”

Macklin stated that this text was chosen to headline the new website because of its significance in helping to declare a mission of open communication with the University’s student body.

“We wanted our students to know that we were here for them, not for anyone else. We need them to know we are here to support them and advocate for them,” she went on to add.

Transparency has been one of Macklin’s focuses in her tenure as Student Union President. She wrote in her email that she believes that the new website allows for greater student civic engagement with their representatives. “We have our peers at the front of our minds with every single step we make. We will not move as a Union if it is not in the student’s best interests. Transparency is in the students’ best interests. And this development allows for transparency,” she stressed.

Macklin also noted that she has great admiration for previous iterations of the Student Union website but felt that the old version was “incomplete.”

She asserted that “the largest difference between this and all previous editions is that this website is entirely comprehensive,” adding that on the new website, “the information is conveyed in a clear and modern manner.”

The new website, according to Macklin, demonstrates the professional nature of the Brandeis Student Union.

“We are not a high school student government. We are one of the most effective and elite collegiate student government associations in the northeast,” Macklin stated of the high expectations she holds for the Student Union.

Macklin confirmed that many people were involved in the production of the website, but she largely credits the final product to the expertise of Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Grady Ward ’16, which is further confirmed by the text “Made by Grady Ward ’16” at the bottom of all pages of the website.

The website took more months to complete than originally planned, but Macklin stated that she and Ward decided on the three large concepts promoted on the homepage — “advocacy”, “allocations” and “community” — during the summer while in the drafting phase of development for the website. Of the decision-making process for the three major concepts, Macklin added, “We took a close look at the functions of all the branches, and we chose these three concepts to be the most important. “

Directly below these three concepts and their subsequent descriptions on the homepage are links to detailed information on the Student Union’s office hours, the constitution and bylaws, the romper room and club finances. Under these links — listed below the title “Who are we?” — are access points to information about the four branches of the Student Union and bios for the individual members. Positioned on the very bottom of the homepage are links to web pages for union news, the meeting schedule, current initiatives and meeting minutes.

Macklin affirmed that this layout design is directly related to her mission of transparency and that the website overhaul is a part of her overall plan to improve upon the Student Union by amplifying its level of activity for the benefit of the student body.

Of this plan, she explained, “The more we are active this year, the more our students will get into the habit of expecting us to be active in years to come.”

The new Student Union website can be accessed at the URL “http://union.brandeis.edu.”