The Student Senate began their weekly meeting with a budget issue, asserting that $2200 of the annual budget has been used so far.

Next, the senators presented what each committee has worked on the past week. The Club Support Committee chartered the National Society of Black Women in Medicine Club. The Campus Life Committee finalized and distributed projects that they would like to work on, including land acknowledgement plaques and updating meal plans to make dining hall food more nutritious. The Health and Wellness Committee shared their plans for a tabling event this month with wellness goodie bags. They also shared plans to collaborate with the Brandeis Counseling Center and therapy dogs. The Student Advocacy Committee did not meet this week. However, they mentioned that the Senate needs to start thinking about the Winter Gala soon. 

The Senate then proceeded to continue last week’s discussion on the budget issues surrounding the recent increase in new clubs on campus. A speaker on behalf of the Allocations Board proposed merging clubs into smaller subgroups in order to consolidate clubs with similar purposes. The senators discussed implementing a Waltham Group model, with one overarching secured club that contains several subgroups. Luke Farberman ’27 raised a logistical concern around trying to do this with clubs that have national headquarters. He also expressed that “we need to loop the clubs in on this … It’s easy to say until it’s your club.” The senators agreed that transparency will be essential when implementing these new policies. 

They discussed the topic of potentially merging some of the cultural clubs, weighing the benefits and setbacks of this option. It could be controversial to do this. Sarah Jafary ’28 asserted that in the case of cultural groups, there is a clear distinction. The Allocations Board speaker maintained that some of the cultural clubs fill a similar niche and host similar events, so looking for ways to consolidate that might make sense. Notably, the Senate tried to merge some of the cultural clubs into one secured group last semester and it did not work out. They considered the possibility of revisiting that idea.

Concerns were also raised surrounding the amount of performing arts related clubs on campus, particularly in regards to a capella. One senator shared that “I do believe as a school we do not need 12 different acapella groups.” Farberman pushed back on this claim, asserting that they are long-standing institutions on campus and our college has a history of supporting them. The senators resolved to discuss the matter of merging clubs further at the next meeting. 

Daniel Shin shared a couple of announcements about upcoming events, Yumcha on Nov. 8 and MELA on Nov. 15. Farberman asked the senators if anyone would like to help him create a resolution in response to President Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. 

The meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m. 

— Editor's Note: Justice News Editorial assistant. Ashhwika Soni 29’ is a student union senator and did not edit nor contribute to this article.