The Senate convened on Saturday for its last meeting of the academic year. The meeting was moved from Sunday due to Springfest.

Executive Senator Hannah Brown ’19 reminded the Senate about the upcoming State of the Union on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Brown mentioned appointing committee chairs for next year, but Class of 2020 Senator Tal Richtman suggested that the Senate appoint chairs in the fall to give people a chance to join the Union and run for these positions.

Richtman also suggested that there be a resolution acknowledging the work of the Allocations Board and other branches of the Union. The Senate agreed and decided that this resolution will be done at a later date.

Brown then brought up the upcoming Union and Club Awards. The categories will be new club of the year; club with outstanding dedication to community service, (one for a regular club and one for the Waltham Group); senator who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Brandeis community; senator of the year; friend of the senate (non-Senate); and innovator of the year (non-Senate).

President-Elect Jacob Edelman ’18 asked the members of the Union for their thoughts and reflections on the Student Union’s performance this year and for ways in which it could improve.

Richtman said that one of the biggest problems is communication. One way to solve this, he says, is to make a communication committee and split the Services and Outreach Committee into two separate committees: services and social. Richtman also felt that there was a decrease in Union productivity in the second semester, including lackluster Senator attendance and less devotion to roles. 

Midyear Senator Dana Brown ’20 said that it is hard for first-years and midyears to jump into the Senate because they do not know what they are doing right away and are still trying to get used to Brandeis. She said a training session for newcomers to understand the intricacies of the Union would be helpful.

Edelman suggested that there could be a mentoring program where an older member of the Union is matched with a newcomer to train them. He also mentioned that the Student Union should undergo mental health training to recognize signs of mental distress in fellow students.

Senator-at-Large Matt Smetana ’17 suggested that members of outside clubs should be able to apply to join Union committees. This change would reduce the work of Union members on committees and allow many different perspectives to be lent to the committees, he said.

Union Vice President Paul Sindberg ’18 said that 85 percent of clubs have undergone bystander training.

Class of 2019 Senator Kate Kesselman stated the accomplishments of the Dining Committee, which include the introduction of a panini press in Sherman Dining Hall, the relocation of Dunkin Donuts and weekly meetings with Sodexo to improve food quality.

Smetana reported that the DeisBikes Initiative was completed. He and many others rode to the different fix stations and around campus to promote awareness of biking Brandeis.

Richtman reported that the Club Support Committee checked in with many different clubs. The committee met some resistance from club leaders about club reports and wants to find another way to connect with club leaders, he said. Richtman also stated that there are some inefficiencies in the number of clubs in terms of inactivity and duplicates.

Outgoing Union President David Herbstritt ’17 ended with remarks about his time serving the Union, explaining that being in the Student Union has been one of the best experiences of his life, and that he is very grateful for his time served.

—Emily Blumenthal