The Campus Life Committee held its second meeting of the semester on Nov. 19 to discuss important issues facing the Brandeis community, such as the upcoming dormitory selection process for the new Ridgewood dorms, transportation and the efficiency of space utilization in campus facilities, according to Student Union President Jason Gray '10.Gray explained that in past years, campus life issues involving quiet hours, residence halls and transportation services were addressed only on an ad hoc basis, which yielded fewer tangible results for the student body.

"I realized that we needed a more coordinated way to address campus life issues, so I decided to co-chair a committee called the Campus Life Committee to bring together student leaders and student life administrators to discuss campus life issues," Gray said.

Present at the meeting were Gray, Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer, Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan and various other administrators and student representatives.

Issues pertaining to transportation services took center stage at the meeting. Assistant for the Outreach of the Student Union Sofya Bronshvayg '11 presented the committee with a long list of student transportation requests. Most of these requests focused on students' desire for more shuttles to the current destinations of Waltham, Cambridge and Boston, as well as shuttle services to new places like shopping malls and Riverside, a nearby train station where students can access the Green Line subway.

Callahan was at the meeting to address these grievances regarding transportation and to collaborate with the student representatives to find a solution. "We provide a very extensive transportation system that is free," Callahan said, referring to the BranVan escort service, the weekday on-campus shuttle, the Waltham shuttle and the Boston-Cambridge shuttles that operate from Thursday to Sunday.

Callahan noted the financial difficulties in meeting the student requests.

"When it comes down to it, most of the transportation issues discussed are budgetary issues. Students are looking for more services in this time of fiscal conservatism not only in Brandeis but worldwide, so we are concentrating more on maximizing the systems we have," he said.

"We are looking at systems we have in place and we will see if things can be more efficient," he continued, "but there are no promises about the expansion of transportation due to budget concerns."

The committee decided to keep in place the existing housing selection process for this year's upcoming room selection, with the only addition being the newly built Ridgewood suite-style dorms. The issue of space efficiency for club meetings and storage was only lightly discussed and was mostly postponed due to the committee's time constraints.

The committee is eager to meet again next semester to tackle pressing issues, according to Director of Executive Affairs Jess Blumberg '09. While a specific agenda has not yet been set for the next meeting, a number of topics are being considered, including quiet hours and school spirit, as well as the general process of policymaking on campus issues that arise.

"There is so much more we have to discuss," Blumberg said. "It was a great beginning, but it is only the beginning.