The Senate met for its weekly meeting on Sunday to confirm Student Union Executive Board members and discuss changes to the University’s energy policies.

The confirmations fell under the “new business” section of the agenda, but the senators voted unanimously to move this discussion to the beginning of the meeting, so as to allow the individuals up for confirmation to leave once they had been voted on.

The individuals up for confirmation were Student Union Director of Programming Adriana Gleaton ’17, Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Emily Conrad ’17, Executive Senator Paul Sindberg ’18, Allocations Board Chairperson Alex Feldman ’17, Student Union Judiciary Chief Justice Brian Dorfman ’16 and Student Union Chief of Staff Will Jones ’18.

The various representatives had been sitting in on E-board meetings unconfirmed by the Senate. Addressing the Senate on Sunday night, Student Union President Nyah Macklin ’16 said, “To not have the students confirmed by the Senate was a huge misstep on our behalf. … It was a communications error. ... I didn’t follow the constitution, and that’s a problem.”

Class of 2019 Senator Nathan Greess asked Macklin to explain what the primary function of the E-board is, whether it plays more of an advisory role for the president or whether it was meant to encompass the heads of the different branches of Student Union.

Jones explained that it incorporates the heads of the different branches, not in an advisory role but rather as a resource for the Student Union as a whole. Greess then pointed out that the presence of representatives from the A-Board and the Judiciary extend the function of the E-board beyond what is outlined in the constitution. During the resulting discussion, Feldman noted the importance of having a conversation between the A-Board and the Senate about chartered clubs and the funds available to give to them.

North Quad Senator Hannah Brown ’19 asked whether having the chief justice of the Judiciary sit in on e-board meetings constituted a conflict of interest, as the main purpose of the Judiciary is to mediate conflicts involving the Union. Dorfman responded that he would be open to the possibility of attending a separate meeting just for the heads of Union branches, to be scheduled in addition to E-board meetings. Macklin agreed with this suggestion and told the Senate that she would look into it. Ultimately, the Senate voted to confirm Gleaton, Conrad, Sindberg and Jones, but voted not to confirm Dorfman due to this potential conflict of interest.

The Senate then heard a presentation on the University’s energy policies from Class of 2017 Senator and Brandeis Sustainability Committee head Matt Smetana. Smetana announced that the University will roll out new energy usage guidelines this summer. These new guidelines address the University’s carbon footprint by setting standard building temperatures of 68 degrees Fahrenheit for the winter and 76 degrees Fahrenheit for the summer. He noted that the University will be more responsive to fixing issues with thermostats across campus. He also discussed how the lights in the library are “hardwired” to be on 24/7, and in order to turn them off and conserve energy, the University has hired someone to go through the building to find where the master control is and find a way to turn off the lights when no one is in the library.

In executive officer reports, Herbstritt told the Senate that the E-board is working on a constitutional amendment about who can sit in on E-board meetings.Highlights from committee chair reports included that Midnight Buffet preparations are underway, that the University will be getting swings on campus, that there will be a microwave in the Shapiro Campus Center for public use and that the Student Union will co-facilitate a video series on climate change.

The Senate also voted on a Senate Money Request to fund the purchase of common club resources and voted East Quad Senator Callahan Cox ’18 up to Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund representative. Additionally, the senators voted to suspend voting rules to allow the Senate to vote to grant a Senate Money Request for the purchase of Midnight Buffet shirts.The Senate skipped individual senator reports and adjourned after a brief open forum.

—Abby Patkin