The Student Union convened at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26 for their regular weekly meeting. Due to low attendance, the senators decided to lower the voting quorum for the meeting to twelve. The Student Union President, Ria Escamilla-Gil ’27, was not present, and the meeting was led by Sarah Jafary ’28 and Daniel Shin ’27. 

The meeting began with a presentation by Marley Wilson ’26, the co-chair of the Allocations Board. He shared his concerns surrounding the future of funding for clubs at the University, and a desire to exert scrutiny when chartering new clubs. He explained that club funding comes from the student activity fee and that there has been a surplus in recent years due to the lack of events during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wilson expressed a desire to return to pre-COVID spending habits. As more clubs are chartered, each one will receive less funding. He stressed the importance of ensuring that each club fulfills a unique purpose for the student body. When asked how limited the budget is, Wilson responded that “we have 200+ clubs. The amount of clubs that participated in Marathon this last spring was 248 … We had over $2 million a few years ago, and that amount is decreasing year by year.”

The Student Union’s next order of business was to hear pitches from two new clubs and decide if they should enter probationary club status, which is the first step towards becoming a chartered club on campus. The first group of students presented their case for a “Pre-Med Society,” asserting that the club would provide academic and professional development opportunities for pre-med students. It would serve as an organization for all students interested in a career in medicine and would be welcome to students of all majors. 

The senators discussed whether this club would fulfill a unique need, since Brandeis has several medical-related groups, including Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students, Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps, National Society of Black Women in Medicine and Global Medical Brigade. They ultimately decided to approve the club. They ultimately decided  that it did fulfill a unique need for the community since the other clubs serve particular niches, and that similarly to Brandeis’ Pre-Law Society, a Pre-Med Society would greatly benefit the student body. 

The next presentation was for the Armenian Students’ Association. Co-president Ani Poghosyan ’26 advocated for the club as a space for Brandeis students to foster a community of Armenians, share history and culture and host events to bring students together. The club had its first event earlier this month, during which they shared different types of Armenian bread while discussing Armenian history and their goals for the club. The Student Union had no concerns about the uniqueness of this club, as there are no similar organizations on campus. They voted to approve its status as a probationary club. 

Each committee evaluated and ensured their responsibilities were being handled. The Student Advocacy Committee shared their plans to bring a petting zoo to campus again, due to last year’s success, and shared their hope to improve pre-pathway resources for students. The Internal Operations committee shared a desire to clean and improve the Student Union office. 

The Student Union additionally discussed roles for Family Weekend and divided tasks among the Union to ensure that everything gets completed. They decided which students would be present during various Family Weekend events. They ended by moving to expedite the Senate Money Resolution for the petting zoo, in order to avoid last-minute contractual issues that occurred last year. Everyone voted yes and this motion moved forward. They ended by voting on the Senate Money Resolution itself, once the expedition had been approved. The Union also approved on this motion.

The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.