At the last stage of discussion open to the entire student body, Brandeis students introduced eight proposals to allocate all or part of the $121,000 in a Union Senate rollover account. A ninth proposal was submitted through e-mail. No new proposals will be accepted from this point on. The Town Hall meeting, sponsored by the Executive Office of the Student Union Government, took place in the atrium of the Shapiro Student Center at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12. This was the second meeting of its type; the first having been held on March 25.

Union Vice President Alex Lo '03 explained that each student at Brandeis pays an activities fee amounting to one percent of the cost of tuition; the Union Allocations Board (A-board) then distributes this money to clubs. At times though, he said, clubs "have failed to use all their money," and thus the rollover account was born.

Since this money was originally designated for student activities, the responsibility of spending it lies with the students. But the University administration must endorse the proposals before they appear on a student ballot, and then approve the final decision.

Castle Quad Senator Pamela Hoffman '03 attributed this restriction to the unusually large figure of money involved. Union Communications Director Marci Surkes '03 added that due to Student Union behavior several years ago, the Union is "on probation," but hopes to regain full privileges by receiving administration approval for their plans for the rollover funds.

Tomorrow the Union will submit proposal "packages" to Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy and University President Reinharz, which will combine individual proposals totaling $121,000. According to Lo, the administration will choose five to 10 of these packages, which will then appear on a ballot during the first round of elections on March 24.

"The money needs to all be spent at once," Surkes said, adding "(The administration])wants to see a plan that will spend all this money now. The packages must equal $121,000 -- no more, no less."
Most likely, students will vote on these complete packages, not on individual components. Otherwise, the sum cost of the winning proposals might not equal $121,000. But this process is not definite, and is open to student input.

Christopher DeRienzo '03, BEMCO (Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps) director of operations, proposed that $40,000 be spent on incorporating an ambulance into BEMCo's repertoire. The written proposal explains that almost 50 percent of this year's calls have necessitated transportation to the hospital, requiring BEMCo staff to contact 9-1-1 and wait for an ambulance to arrive. Often, twenty minutes pass between the initial call and the arrival of the ambulance. A BEMCo ambulance would transform BEMCo into a "full-fledged BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance squad," DeRienzo said. Currently, because BEMCo does not have a stretcher and cannot shuttle people to the hospital, the rescue procedure process is longer than it should be.

"The proposal works on the assumption that we'll get an ambulance donated," he said, adding that BEMCo has already received offers of donations. The cost covers four areas: insurance, maintenance, training, and equipment.

Noah Cohen '05 and Jasmine Vallego '03 made two separate proposals for a game room in the old bookstore. Vallejo, representing the Fun Committee, comprised of other students and Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett asked for $50,000. The contents of the game room would depend on students' desires, but the list of current ideas includes: pool tables, ping pong tables, nine video game systems (three each of Playstation, Nintendo Gamecube and X-box), a karaoke system, an air hockey table, a pinball machine, a collection of DVD's for rental, a plasma screen linked to the My Brandeis web site, and a collection of outdoor recreation equipment that could be lent out to students. Bennett said, "Our intention would be to poll the student body and make sure there's something for everyone."

The tentative hours of the game room would be noon to midnight daily, allowing for spontaneous visits. The written proposal reads: "Students need time to recharge, to be able to have a space outside the academic and extracurricular world where they can interact with their peers without worry."

If approved, construction of the game room will begin this summer, Bennett said.

Noah Browne '03, coordinator of the Brandeis division of SOAR (Students Organized Against Racism) spoke next. He requested $4,000 to bring Tim Wise, "the foremost white anti-racist speaker in the U.S.," to campus. "I want to bring him here to challenge people," Browne said. Wise is available to come as soon as the beginning of April, which would be feasible if the proposal were approved quickly.

For the following proposal, Surkes stepped out of her role in the Union Government and introduced the Brandeis History Project, which has three segments meant to foster "a sense of living history at Brandeis." Though Surkes stated that the costs are flexible, she estimates that $20,000 to $25,000 would be needed for the project.

Her vision includes a Freedom Trail "demarcating important historical landmarks" on the Brandeis campus. Such a trail "would transform the face of this campus" and help Brandeis become a "living museum."

Surkes also hopes to display a collection of photographs, artifacts, memorabilia and speeches from Brandeis' past. Many of these items have already been compiled, but they need to be framed and prepared for display.

The third and least expensive part of Surkes' proposal is a community gathering to "disseminate our oral history." She described the event as "talking about our past with people who were there."

East Quad Senator Andrei Khots '05, Senator for Racial Minority Students Nicole Amarteifio '04, and North Quad Senator Daniel Mauer '06 submitted a seven-pronged plan that covers the entire $121,000 by combining several other proposals and also introducing new components. Unique to their pitch is the creation of a $15,000 monument to Ford Hall, which stood on the site of the Shapiro Campus Center, was the site of a takeover by black students in 1969. These students "cared about taking a stance against injustice," Amarteifio said. And while we talk about diversity "we knock down a building that symbolizes diversity in its entirety."

On behalf of the Brandeis Outdoor and Mountaineering Club, Jesse Salk '03 and Mat Travis '05 proposed the construction of an indoor rock-climbing wall. "It's really versatile for team building," Salk said, and could be used by the Mountain Club, PE classes, RA training, Waltham Group programs, hall or quad events. A rock gym could also facilitate the formation of a competitive rock-climbing team.

The Brewer's Ledge architectural firm estimates the cost of the project to be $127,000. But the Mountain Club is looking into outside funding, and is also willing to build a less elaborate wall. "One hundred thousand dollars is what we would work with," said Salk, adding that this price is also negotiable.

The climbing wall would be constructed in Gosman (Sports and recreation center), as "part of a conversion of the squash courts," some of which are not in use for competition. Gosman has already approved this procedure, and construction would take place over the summer, with a rock gym ready in time for fall.

Next, Aron Wolgel '05, speaking on his own behalf, asked for $1,000 to $20,000 to finance research in the process of phasing out the use of social security numbers of campus. The dollar amount, he said, is not his main concern. "The important issue is to get it on the ballot," he said. He cited statistics that in 2002, the harms of identity theft doubled.

"This is a large violation of privacy that I would like to control," he said. As an example, he explained that he has in his possession a list of social security numbers of all the students signed up for Shabbat dinner.

A company called PeopleSoft has already begun a shift to an SSN-free system, but this will take 18 months. Wolgel said that "any amount of money would be helpful" simply to "show ITS that we care" and alert the administration of the need to expedite the implementation of a new system.

Union President Ben Brandzel '03 proposed the purchase of two 15-passenger vans for club use. In total, this proposal calls for $65,000, which covers $25,000 to buy each van, insurance, maintenance, and a $5,000 emergency fund. Brandzel said that other schools of Brandeis' size offer this service.

Brandzel cited an October 2001 poll that asked the entire student body if it supported a purchase of a "fleet of vans for clubs to use for group transportation?" Approximately 85 percent of those who responded claimed that they were strongly or somewhat in favor, and 98 percent of over 60 responding club leaders said the addition of vans would improve their clubs.

Submitted through email by Senator at Large Becky Fromer '05, the final proposal asked for $6,000 to be given towards the Judicial Advocacy Committee, which, as she explained, "exists to listen, prioritize, and implement changes to deal with student complaints." The allocated money would "specifically deal with students' complaints that are currently unable to be alleviated because of lack of funding."

The student body should expect to vote on these proposals very soon, and will be continuously informed of any new developments. Given the magnitude of the funds in question, Surkes stated, "we want this whole procedure to be really transparent. It's not our decision; it's all of our decisions."