At this crucial time in our university's history, the Brandeis student body needs a leader who will represent everyday student interests; connect students, club leaders and administrators; and establish a strong campuswide community. With this in mind, we endorse Matt Kriegsman '11 for Student Union president. Kriegsman's dedication to a unified student body and expanded opportunities for student involvement qualify him to lead the Student Union and make positive change.Kriegsman has experience in numerous leadership capacities. Thanks to his three-semester tenure as associate justice on the Student Judiciary, Kriegsman has familiarized himself with Union procedures while maintaining an outside perspective and open to new ideas for the Union. Furthermore, Kriegsman's position as president of Chabad has allowed him to plan large programs that benefit hundreds of students. In that role, Kriegsman spearheaded the first-ever Shabbat United, a dinner for the Brandeis Jewish community that over 400 students attended, and he has expressed his passion for establishing a similar event for the entire Brandeis community in the true spirit of sharing and embracing diversity.

Kriegsman's platform seeks to improve student life in both the immediate and distant future. Kriegsman intends to combat the problem of overcrowding the University not only in the dining and residence halls but also, crucially, in classrooms in order to ensure the highest value for our respective degrees upon graduation. He plans to work with students to voice pressing issues facing the undergraduate experience to the administration and to work with the administration to effect positive change.

Kriegsman has proposed several measures aimed at making the Union more accessible, including relocating the office hours of the president, senators and executive board members to the Shapiro Campus Center atrium for increased visibility. He will also encourage student leaders to establish relationships with senators, using the Senate as a resource to make the changes everyone wishes to see benefit our campus. Kriegsman also plans to reform Union expenditures, making more reasonable purchases in order to cultivate a relationship between the Brandeis community and the Union while also being more cost-efficient.

While we endorse Kriegsman for president, we applaud all of the candidates for crafting excellent platforms and encourage the ultimate president-elect to seriously consider the merit of those ideas. For example, J.V. Souffrant '13 has suggested placing a new focus on students struggling academically; Daniel Acheampong '11 has cited improving the connection between students and administrators as a chief priority; and Sahar Massachi '11 has proposed applying community organization tactics to the Union and administration relationship to make change.

All told, four talented individuals are participating in this year's presidential race. While we extend our best wishes to each, we encourage students to cast their votes in favor of Kriegsman, who will undoubtedly prove to be an effective student leader.