Except for the inadvertent omission of a candidate's name, last week's elections were carried out without issue. The Union Senate, now led by Union President Ben Brandzel '03, has said farewell to departing members and welcomed its new elected officials.Outgoing Union Secretary Adam Herman '04 reported, "At the end of my term as Secretary, I am pleased that the year of elections went so well. It was our first full year of online elections and I am pleased with the system."

"Rich Graves (ITS), Eddie Galvez '01, and David Brooks '01 created a wonderful system, Herman explained, "that will last for many years within the student population at Brandeis."

The results of the election included a few new names. Kate Vogel '03 and Xiomara Gonzalez '05 were both elected senators at large. They were both elected by a margin of at least 100 votes over the candidates who lost.

"I am excited to remain involved with student government," Vogel said, "... I think it has amazing potential to make substantive changes on this campus."

Nicole Karlebach '04, current East Quad senator, was elected as one of the class of 2004 senators by mandate during the first round of elections, while Alyssa Krop '04 was elected class of 2004 senator during the second round. Krop defeated her closest opponent by less than 30 votes.

Outgoing Union Vice President Jonathan Sclarsic '03 was also elected Union representative to the Board of Trustees, defeating opponent Mohsin Gadit '03 by just seven votes.

Additionally, four students were elected to the Union Allocations Board. Deidre-Ann Nelson '05, Noah Branman '03, Ari Y. Kahan '04, Gabriel Reif '04 each were elected with more than one quarter of the votes.

Herman, who ran this year's elections, will be replace as Union Secretary by Ana Yoselin Bugallo '03. "I know (she) will do a great job as Secretary," Herman said, "she's already contributed to the Union and will oversee the elections process next year."

The only hitch in last week's election was the omission of Woodrow Fan's '05 name from the initial ballot for Senator for Racial Minority Students. The problem was corrected quickly.

"The most enjoyable part of this job is helping people who want to get involved actually go through the process of joining Union Government," Herman said, "UJ Cases," Herman continued, "hurt feelings, and confusion are sometimes part of it, but the fun part is when people get to come on board and make great things happen for the student body."

"The new Union Senate is diverse, energetic, and a great mix of experience and new blood. Watch for great things from this group," Union President Ben Brandzel '03 added.