Student Union Secretary Aaron Braver '07 announced Friday that the one candidate for Class of 2007 Senator lost to abstentions. Julia Gordon '07 received 60 votes, while 93 students abstained, Braver wrote in an e-mail to the Class of 2007."I am saddened by the fact that my class did not feel that I would be a strong, confident leader," Gordon wrote from Denmark in an e-mail to the Justice. "However, I stand by their decision."

The position will remain vacant until the beginning of next semester, when new elections will be held, Braver wrote.

While Braver said he could not say for sure why Gordon lost to abstentions, he was willing to speculate.

"It could be a product of how [Gordon] ran her campaign, it could be a product of how people felt about her," he said.

It may [also] be due to that fact that it was just one candidate running and a lot of people resented that."

Last week's special election was called after the resignation of Senator Herschel Hartz '07, who cited personal reasons when he stepped down from his post several weeks ago.

This is not the first time that "abstain" received the majority of votes in an election. The last time came in Oct. 2004, when Greer Hauptman '05 was disqualified under the same Union Constitution provision for the position of Charles River Quad Senator.

Although Gordon ran unopposed on the ballot, Dave Klasko '07 received a significant number of write-in votes in the primary round, enough to qualify him for placement on the final ballot. Klasko described his campaign as "last minute," but nonetheless did seriously consider putting his name in the running for the final round before pulling out last minute.

"In the end I decided it wasn't the best time to run for senate," he said.

Klasko, who said he does not plan to run in the election next semester, said the result of the election is unfortunate.

"I was a little shocked," he said. "It's kind of a shame for the class not to have a senator, but I think it will be fine."

215 students voted in the primary round of the election, and only 152 votes were tallied in the final round out of a voter pool of over 800 students, Braver said.

However, Braver said he was not disappointed by these totals.

"Considering the circumstance [of the special election], it was to be expected," he said.

Hartz said that the results of the election indicate general apathy by the student body toward the Union Senate. He cited this as one issue that led him to resign.

Hartz, who did not vote in the election, said, "I wasn't surprised [Gordon lost]. She didn't put up any posters, no one knew that the election was going on. It sort of encompasses the whole issue of the Senate. No one knows what's going on."

While some may feel this election shows the extent of student apathy, Braver sees just the opposite. "I think it shows people are interested in the process if they're willing to make that big of a stand [by abstaining]," he said.

Still, Gordon thinks more transparency in the process would be helpful.

"I do not think that Brandeis students are educated about the elections system," Gordon wrote, adding that a presentation during first-year orientation would help clarify the process.