A special Student Union election was held last Wednesday to fill three vacant Senate seats.Those newly elected to the positions are Andrew Hayes '13 as senator for East Quad, Nathan Israel '14 as Senator for Village Quad and Sara Wiesenfeld as Senator for the Class of 2012.The positions to represent the Village and the Class of 2012 were filled last semester by Missy Skolnik '12 and Abby Kulawitz '12, respectively; both students are abroad this semester. The position for Senator of East Quad opened after Albert Feldman '13 resigned on Jan. 31, according to a Feb. 3 press release from the Student Union Executive Board.

Though Andrew Ramirez '12 ran unopposed for the position of Senator for the Class of 2012, Wiesenfeld was elected as a write-in candidate.

In an interview with the Justice, Wiesenfeld said that she is "thrilled to be a part of the Student Union" and looks forward to being a liaison between students and the Union.

"We need more of the student voices to be heard. . I'm just very excited to explore the options that the Student Union will afford me," she said. Some of her first goals are to look into renovation of dorm rooms in Usen Castle and to expand the hours of operation at Einstein Bros. Bagels.

As senator for East Quad Hayes hopes to focus first on "get[ting] something somewhere that provides [the quad] with drinkable water," such as installing filters on sink taps, as both Hassenfeld and Pomerantz residence halls lack water fountains.

"I think I can do a great job as a senator," he said in an interview with the Justice, "and I'm motivated to represent the constituents."

Israel said in an e-mail interview with the Justice that he was happy to be elected as Village senator, as "there were several great candidates from the Village."

"My platform was simply that I would listen to all of the residents in the Village and try to implement their requests," Israel said. "That is exactly what I plan to do over the coming months." His first course of action, he said, will be to set up "various channels for the Villagers to reach [him]," including a drop-box.

Student Union Secretary Herbie Rosen '12 wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that he was happy with the number of students who ran for open positions, citing Wiesenfeld's "successful write-in campaign" as an example of student interest.

"It was a fair election, and I am glad that all ran smoothly," he wrote.

He wrote that his goal for the next round of Student Union elections is to have greater student-body participation in the elections and "to create a simpler way of voting so students don't have to follow such elaborate details to have their voice heard."

Editor's note: This article was originally posted on the Justice website on Thursday, Feb. 10.