Brandeis will form a firearms committee composed of students, faculty, staff and administrators that will be responsible for writing policies involving the arming of campus police, University President Jehuda Reinharz announced in a memorandum last week. Student Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 will be one of three student representatives on the committee and is responsible for choosing the two others from among a pool of applicants.

"The Student Union has been speaking to the administration to advocate for a transparent process-one in which student voices are heard-as the University moves forward with the arming of our campus police," Sinha wrote in a campus wide e-mail Monday night.

Reinharz chose to arm the officers last September after a firearms advisory committee of students, staff and faculty, which met over the summer, made that recommendation.

The committee will be chaired by Chief Operating Officer Peter French, Sinha wrote. The application, which was attached to Sinha's e-mail, is due Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., and the representatives will be chosen by Nov. 16.

"We are looking for students who are willing and able to communicate the different points of view on this issue and who will provide constructive insight on the future of this process," Sinha said.

Aside from attending committee meetings, the representatives will hold open meetings where members of the student body can voice their opinions on the committee's proceedings, Sinha said.

Sinha said she expects many students will apply for the positions, as the arming of campus police is an issue that is "big on campus." She added that she believes the formation of the committee is an indication of how students at Brandeis can make a difference in the community.

According to Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan, who will serve on the committee, the group will look at firearms policies at other schools, such as Tufts University, Brown University and Wellesley College.

"Firearms are not new to academia," Callahan said. "[This policy] shouldn't be difficult to set in place."

A group of 23 students submitted a petition signed by 830 undergraduates, 16 staff and 20 faculty members at Reinharz's office hours Oct. 18 that disputed the decision to arm and the manner in which it was made, but that protest had nothing to do with the formation of this committee, Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins explained.

"[The committee] was thought up well in advance," he said. "There were discussions about forming a group long before they went to his office."

At that meeting, Reinharz made a commitment to keep students informed about procedures involving the arming, and Ben Serby '10, who created who created a campus club called Students Opposed to the Decision to Arm, said the formation of this committee is a fulfillment of that commitment.

"I think that our meeting with him had a big impact," Serby said.

Serby said SODA won't focus on the committee's proceedings, as they are still attempting to get the actual decision to arm overturned.

SODA members convened outside of the Shapiro Campus Center at 10 p.m. last Monday night for an event titled "Use chalk, not guns," in which they wrote in chalk all over campus to raise awareness for their cause.

"A lot of people thought that after our meeting with Reinharz we sort of lost momentum," Serby said. "We want people on campus to know about us and see that we are taking action. We want to engage our passive and quit allies to join our cause.