On Sunday, Feb. 8, the Student Union Senate hosted its weekly meeting. They discussed chartering the Brandeis Mountain Club, changing the Guitar and Bass Club’s name to JAM Club, and passing Senate Resolution One, which calls for the Brandeis University Administration to publicly oppose the Compact for Academic Excellence and Higher Education.

The meeting started with the Union Senate hosting the Brandeis Mountain Club, which was founded in 1987. In order for a club to be chartered, it must have good standing for at least five years and has to prove that it is a significant benefit to the community as a whole. Once chartered, the club receives a few benefits, such as potentially having office space, dedicated budget money and receiving a purchasing card to make purchases related to the club’s missions and activities. Isaac Lambert ’26, Brandeis Mountain Club President, Logan Miller ’26, Communications Coordinator and Elizabeth Josiah ’28, Gear Room Manager, presented on the benefits it brings to the community. 

They began by discussing their history of offering free outdoor trips to the Brandeis undergraduate community. Mountain Club organizes over 20 trips a semester and offers a wide variety of trips, such as day hikes, professor hikes and snowboarding. Their largest event, the bonfire, occurs toward the beginning of the semester and allows students to gain invaluable social connections. In addition, its 1,353 members and high demand for trips demonstrate the club’s large-scale resonance with the greater Brandeis community. Due to the expensive nature of outdoor trips, the club provides BranVans for transportation, extensive free gear such as sleeping bags, designs trips for students of various experience levels and uses a random lottery system to try to ensure that everyone who wishes can participate in activities at least once a semester.

Furthermore, the club emphasized outdoor education and safety training. Board members receive first aid training and provide safety mentorship during the trips. In addition to this, they run professor hikes, which allow students to network and connect with professors on a more personal level.

Moreover, leadership from Mountain Club argued that due to the number of trips they host per semester, they wish to become chartered because they coordinate frequently with administrators such as Morgan Gill, Program Specialist for Student Engagement and Leadership, need Department of Student Engagement travel approval and effectively use their large budget without requiring supplementary funding. The group argued that this efficiency and attention to detail shows reliability and conscientiousness as club leaders. Once their presentation concluded, the Union Senate took a vote and the resolution passed, allowing the club to be chartered. Soon, they will open the club’s prospect for chartering to the student body at large for a vote. If the resolution passes with a two-thirds majority, the club will officially become chartered.

The Guitar and Bass Club also met with the Union Senate to appeal for a name change. After explaining that they have regular meetings and jam sessions, they invited the Union Senate to join in for an improvisation session to demonstrate the value of the name change. The Union Senate was encouraged to sing and hum to see the value of the name change to better reflect the club’s activities. The name change was approved by the Senate. After the club discusses the issue with DSE, it can officially update its constitution and submit changes.

Finally, Luke Farberman ’27, a Senator-at-Large, discussed passing Senate Resolution One, which calls for the Brandeis University Administration to publicly oppose the Compact for Academic Excellence and Higher Education. This Trump administration proposal offers universities access to federal funds and benefits only if they adhere to specific ideological and policy conditions such as defining gender as one’s sex assigned at birth and restricting political protests. Farberman discussed how Union Senators, as representatives, have been granted a special platform to elevate pressing and dire concerns. Section Four discusses abstaining from speech or action related to political or societal events. 

Section Six discusses interpreting the titles of female, male, woman and man according to biological categories. Section Eight mentions that international students must support American and Western values and includes a cap of 15% on international students. Currently, 15.8% of Brandeis students are international. 

Farberman argued that these demands are so outrageous that seven out of the nine universities who were invited to discuss this compact abstained from speaking. On Oct. 14, the compact moved to include all universities in the United States. He called on the University’s administration to stand in opposition to the compact. Farberman also argued that Brandeis will not and should not engage in an undemocratic form of negotiation, which he described as authoritarianism. After this, the Union Senate entered an executive session to discuss confidential matters about the student body and Union Senate.

After the Union Senate reconvened, they called for a secret ballot due to the sensitive nature of the issue. They voted on Slack, which is a communications platform the student leaders use to ask questions, debate and express their opinions, to approve, not approve or abstain. The vote passed 8–6, and the resolution went into effect. They will coordinate with the University to discuss logistics. The meeting adjourned after this resolution passed.

— Editor’s Note: The Justice News Editorial Assistant Ashhwika Soni ’29 is a Student Union Senator and did not contribute to or edit this article.

— Editor’s Note: The Justice News Editor Lucia Thomas ’26 is an executive board member of the Brandeis Mountain Club and did not contribute to or edit this article.