The Student Union Senate began their most recent meeting with a discussion of adding a constitutional amendment that would make constitutional reviews mandatory every four years, and details the process by which the constitutional review task force would function. Ben Beutel '12, a former senator, participated in that portion of the meeting via video chat, advising senators on constitutional review and answering questions about the proposed amendment. The Student Judiciary, led by chief justice Claire Sinai '15, will oversee the constitutional review process. The required 10 senators signed the petition to send the amendment to the student body for public consideration. A vote will be held on Sunday, from midnight to midnight.

The Senate then moved on to swearing in its newest members, Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program Senator Jennifer Almodovar (MKTYP) and Village Quad Senator Bowen Li '16. Newly elected associate justice Luky Guigui '15 was not present.

Moving on to club chartering and recognition, the Senate heard from two groups: the Brandeis Technical Traders Society and the Brandeis Alternative Medicine Club.

First, BTTS, which was recognized last semester, returned to be chartered. The club, whose leaders said draws 20 to 40 students per meeting, focuses on teaching trading and technical analysis skills to its members. The group stated that it was different from Investment Club, which focuses its activity on managing an investment portfolio.

Examples of funding they might require were travel for competitions, bringing in speakers and taking the group members on trips. The Senate undertook a lengthy debate about the purpose of the group as being competitive versus being purely educational. Ultimately, the Senate voted to charter BTTS conditionally, with the requirement that they collect an additional 15 signatures of support. The list of signatures they had presented to the Senate was outdated, with at least 15 of the signers having graduated.

The Brandeis Alternative Medicine Club then came before the Senate and successfully changed their name, expanding their mission at the same time. The club was previously recognized as the Skincare Club, and focused solely on skincare.

The club then presented its case for being chartered. With Student Union funds, the club leaders said they would bring specialists such as massage therapists and acupuncturists to speak on campus, and work with overlapping interest groups such as the Intercultural Center or the Pre-Health Society to host educational events.

The Senate's deliberation periodically deviated into questions of the legitimacy of alternative medicine, and safety concerns of practicing on students. Executive Senator Annie Chen '14 and Vice President Charlotte Franco '15 continually brought the discussion back to the issue of whether the club should be chartered, not recognized.

Ultimately, the Senate did not charter the club, but urged its leaders to come back with more evidence of support with its new name, as well as more events or initiatives that could not be put on without Union funding.

In Student Union President Ricky Rosen's '14 report to the Senate, he announced that all University committees had been filled, and that Finance Board had finished regular marathon funding. In regard to issues with the Union's shuttle initiative, Rosen urged senators to tell their constituents that complaints should be directed to procurement, which would keep records of the issues.

Rosen also addressed the issue of limited parking on campus, and said that the problem with towing and ticketing this year has been more severe than usual, causing the Student Union and the administration to revisit the parking system. Potential solutions include adding a shuttle from an outside lot, or, in the long-term, building a parking garage.

Other major changes that may be coming in the near future include construction on dining facilities. According to Rosen, at a Sept. 27 meeting with University and Sodexo administrators, Sodexo is looking into "building out," or physically expanding, the dining locations in Sherman Function Hall and Usdan Student Center. He stated that they were also looking into the possibility of adding a dining location in the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center. Rosen also briefly mentioned the formation of the divestment exploratory committee, and encouraged club attendance at the upcoming "Taste of Sodexo" event.


-Tate Herbert