The Senate convened on Sunday to discuss ongoing bystander training efforts and various student grievances around campus.

The Brandeis Stand-Up Comedy Club approached the Senate for recognition during the meeting. Club representatives pointed out that although Brandeis has plenty of groups for sketch and improvisational comedy — including Bad Grammer, Boris’ Kitchen, Crowd Control, False Advertising and To Be Announced — there are no clubs devoted solely to stand-up. The senators voted in favor of recognition.

Next came the Aviation Club, a flight-focused group seeking charter. Being dependent on funding by nature, the club’s representatives argued that they needed chartering so that they could rent and fly planes, drones, quadcopters and other airborne vehicles.

They said they would also hire a flight instructor to help others learn how to fly.

Senators voiced concerns over the group’s natural dependence on funding, considering whether it would be appropriate to grant them chartering based on plans rather than actions. The Senate voted to deny chartering on the grounds that the club does not have enough history to go off of.

Third and last to approach the Senate for chartering was Basement Records, which works as a label, recording and distributing undergraduate music to add to the campus scene. Producing and marketing are not cheap, nor are the fees required to play at Cholmondeley’s Coffee House, club representatives explained.

The ensuing discussion focused primarily on the club’s nature. There was concern over where the money was going, whether the club was more of a “quasi-business” than a club and to what extent funding it fell within the Student Union’s jurisdiction. The Senate ultimately voted in favor of chartering the club.

Senators then moved on to executive officer and committee chair reports.

Among other things, it was reported that 700 students had signed up for the bystander training program.

Members of the E-Board also announced that plans to form a student-run intercollegiate union are underway. The union was the brainchild of Brandeis senators who were looking to “support and uplift student activist efforts” at the University and elsewhere, Student Union Vice President Paul Sindberg ’18 explained in a follow-up interview with the Justice.

Next on the docket were the committee chair reports.

Class of 2019 Senator Kate Kesselman, the dining committee chair, discussed the issue of meal plans under Sodexo and how SubConnection’s salads have not been clearly advertised as falling under the meal swipes.

Foster Mods Senator Ari Matz ’17, the health and safety committee chair, talked about plans to make first aid kits available and accessible in Goldfarb Library and the dorms.

From there the senators went over individual reports and moved into open forum, which covered a vast spectrum of topics, including smoking on campus.

—Peri Meyers