Tag: Union elections

Adam Hughes is awesome and you should vote for him.

Adam Hughes is running for Junior Rep to the Board of Trustees. You should vote for him right now. Here’s why:

Adam is clearly best-prepared for this job. When I say best-prepared, I mean that not only does Adam’s experience, knowledge, and resume trump those of all other candidates in the race, but it is hard for me to think of many other possible candidates that could match him. As a sophomore(!) Adam was Vice President for the best Student Union Administration I’ve seen in my time here. I remember discussing that work with him while he was in that role – his shrewdness and dedication impress me to this day. Adam’s also been writing for Innermost Parts since his freshman year; that he’s most eloquent, clear, and insightful. Simply put, he knows both what’s going on, and what has to be done in a way that very few students, faculty, or staff can match.

Don’t believe me? Read Adam’s platform. Here is just a bit of it:

Brandeis University was created to be more than an educational institution. It was founded in 1948 by noted philanthropists to serve as a haven from the rigidly discriminatory university system of the time, and it was instilled with a mandate to actualize Louis Brandeis’ ideals of social justice. The vision was simple and powerful: Brandeis should not merely train the next generation of leaders, it should activate the next generation of global citizens.

This spirit is still alive at our school, enshrined as one of our foundational four pillars that compose the Brandeis ethos. However, we are not perfect, and it is our responsibility as a student body to be vocal about our lapses and work to create the greatest institution possible. Only one percent of the food served on campus meets the Real Food standard of local, sustainable, and organic production; in comparison, UMass-Amherst is at 27 percent. We continue to serve eggs from chickens raised in cruel battery cages, despite the low cost of switching to cage-free. The College Sustainability Report Card gives us an F for our exceptionally low level of endowment transparency. And just last month, the university announced that it was abandoning its policy of need-blind admissions.

As a Representative to the Board of Trustees, I will work to raise awareness of these issues and strengthen the university’s conscience. However, I also want to improve the day-to-day life of every Brandeis student.

Look at that: Vision. Values. Policy Specifics. Not only was that well-written, but I’m pretty sure he whipped that up in minutes.

I have so much respect for Adam. First of all, he is one of the clearest thinkers I know. Often, I will drown in my thoughts, worried about a particular challenge facing me or clubs I’m involved with. A five-minute talk with Adam later, and all seems clear. Adam frequently takes complicated issues and distills them to their essence in an impressive way. But that’s not really why you should vote for him.

Here’s a small slice of what he’s like in person that you won’t see: one reason I choose to be close friends with him is his ability to see the good in everything and everyone. He inspires, and I don’t mean that in a trite way. Adam will often offhandedly remark – “I’m so glad I’m here doing this with you guys”, or “Hey, I am so impressed by what we are doing”. Saying so is no big deal for him, but it warms the heart of everyone in the room. He’s a keen judge of character, and uses that power to see the greatness of what people do, not their negative qualities.

It’s no accident that Adam’s platform starts with a powerful, positive vision of what Brandeis could be. He’s just that sort of person.

Why should you vote for Adam? It could be his integrity, or his intelligence and wit. It could be due to his experience, or bureaucratic skill. It could be because of his policy chops – and wisdom to know what he can achieve with the position. Instead, let’s talk about his values and vision.

Adam gets it. He is one of us, and always will be. He’s also incorruptible. Adam would never think that he’s better than anyone else because he is Rep to the Board. He’s not running for his resume, he’s not running because he wants to meet rich and powerful trustees, and he’s not running for personal gain. He’s running because he has a clear vision of an inspiring, wonderful Brandeis that could be – and a plan for how to get there.

I think so highly of Adam that I have chosen to be best friends with him for years now. The reasons I recommend him so strongly now are the same reasons why he and I are best friends. He’s wicked smart, his sense of justice is unshakeable, and his enthusiasm can be infectious. I know him. He’s the right guy for the job.

Vote Adam Hughes for Rep to the Board of Trustees.

Vote Elly For Rosie Senator

Amidst all of the back-to-school stress, new friendships, and F-board marathon disasters, another school-time tradition is coming up: Elections to the Student Union!! In the next few days, I hope to add to that timeless tradition by asking that you endorse and/or vote for a good friend of mine.

Elly Kalfus is running for Senator of Rosenthal Quad this coming Sunday. If you don’t know her yet, you should, because I know I speak for those of us who do know her when I say that she’s one of the nicest, funniest, and most caring people on campus. She’s an engaged activist, a passionate blogger for Innermost Parts, a hilarious comedy writer, and if she adds the title of Senator to that list, she will dutifully serve the position with an adjective of equal distinction and honor.

Even though we’ve worked closely in the last few months while blogging and helping to plan Campus Camp Wellstone, I’ve known her since last year when we met at a Brandeis Democrats club meeting, and if she had any say about what I write in this part of the post, she would probably yell at me about how cliché this opening sentence is. And that’s what always strikes me about her: She tells it like it is, no matter what. When you speak to her, you’re going to get her full and honest opinion. Sometimes I find myself thinking that it’s a quality that our campus lacks; we’re always so afraid of awkwardness and future awkward encounters around here that the students don’t challenge each other as individuals. If elected to the Senate, I know that Elly will stand firm by her views, and challenge anyone who tries to do less.

She’ll do the work that’s asked of her by her fellow residents and her community because she’s not running to build a resume; this is an example of a candidate taking massive amounts of interest and experience and applying those qualities toward her living environment, Rosie and beyond. She wants to work with the Eco Reps to make the quad more sustainable. She wants to make transportation around Brandeis and Waltham an everyday convenience, not just a luxury for people who have time to wait at the bus stop for long stretches of time. She already serves on the board of the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance, and as the Waltham Group coordinator for the YMCA Kids Connection program. She’s also the leader of the newest Improvisational Comedy group on campus, and the only one to practice a policy of non-exclusivity, drawing in members from every area on campus. These are just Brandeis related activities she does on campus, but she’s also living in the Alternative Spring Break community service suite. How many of us can say that we care so deeply about the world around us that we’re willing to sacrifice one of our few school-year breaks toward a higher cause?

In short: If you live in a Rosie suite, when you log on to the union website on Sunday to vote (which you should all do anyway because it’s a civic duty Dammit), you should vote for Elly. She’s got all of the passion and the drive, and will work hard to keep the Union honest, transparent, and good humored.

And The Candidates Are…

Presenting the candidates for Student Union offices, Fall 2010:

(Note, candidates with Asterisks next to their name have not officially declared a candidacy, but have expressed interest.)

Senator for TYP

Alyssa Green

Terrell Gilkey

*Alexis Munoz

Senator for North Quad

Alexander Bernstein

Jesse Hart

Sam Liang

Sarah Park

Brianda Penafort

Shekeyla Caldwell

Senator for Massell Quad

David Clements

Josh Kelley

Rosby Kome-Mensah II

Sidharth Rijhwani

Sharan Shah

Michael Sklaroff

Senator for 2014

Maria Alkhasova

Dillon Harvey

Jesse Koklas

Marsha Patel

Isaac Rabbani

Tiequin Roquerre

Mitchell Schwartz

Senator for Rosenthal

Elizabeth Fields

Elly Kalfus

Haemee Kang

Fuan Li (Franklin)

Senator for East

Sydney Appelbaum

Albert Feldman

Senator for Castle

Miriam Halimi

Senator for Ziv

Mark Levi

Scott Oglesby

Senator for Charles River

Tae Wan Kim

Brandeis Sustainability Fund Board Rep

*James Bartolacci

Yahav Itzkovich

Susan Paykin

Nicholas Polano

Senior Representative to the UCC

Jenna Rubin

Senator for Off-Campus

Evyn Rabinowitz

*Marcos Sandler

Senator for Village

Jake Weiner

Senator for Ridgewood

– * (Author’s Note: Although someone has expressed interest in this position, they were given more time to consider privately before announcing their position officially.)

Senator for Mods

Choose wisely.

President Daniel Acheampong

Everyone I know who has met Daniel Acheampong shares the same opinion: Daniel is a really nice guy.  He always has a smile and a handshake whenever you run into him, and he’ll always stop to chat no matter how busy he is.  Basically, to know the guy is to love him, and that alone means that we can trust him to run an effective, conflict-free Student Union.

But I’d be doing Daniel (and the Brandeis student body) a disservice to attribute his victory simply to his personality.  I’d also be wrong, particularly in light of how commanding his vote total was.  I’ve never seen anything like the most recent Union election; getting over 50% turnout for the presidential race was far more than I ever thought would be possible, and it speaks to the strength of all four candidates that they were able to motivate so many students to support them.  Daniel’s total, however, was particularly impressive.  Jason Gray and Andy Hogan each won with around 600 votes, but Daniel was able to get over 900.  That has to be some kind of Union record, and you don’t get that kind of campus-wide respect simply because people think you’re nice.

You get it because you took on the most difficult and important job in the Union, the position of Treasurer, and you successfully managed the finances for the entire campus.  You get it because you helped to start Live Campus 2009, a nationwide series of concerts with the proceeds going to eliminating poverty.  You get it because you somehow managed to find the time to serve as a Roosevelt Fellow as well, going through a difficult application process to serve as a peer academic adviser.  Daniel has proven himself a leader in many different areas of the campus community, and his stunning electoral victory is a testament to his diverse, impressive resume.

While I voted and worked for Sahar Massachi in the election, I always had a strong respect for Daniel, and I look forward to working with him to accomplish our shared goals for the campus.  The student body provided him with a strong mandate to work for his agenda, and I’m sure he’s eager to jump into action.  Congratulations again to Daniel on his swearing in, and good luck on guiding the Union to a successful year.

I’m voting for this guy

Check out what came into my facebook inbox last night:

My dear friends,
I would first like to thank you for joining this group. It means a lot to me, almost as if you had liked a status of mine, or poked me.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to message you at midnight when voting starts. I will be working, at Einsteins, like a real American. But let me tell you what you should do tomorrow.

Between 8 am and 9 am, you should wake up (unless you don’t have class) and shower. If you are a night showerer, just stick to your regular schedule. During your energizing breakfast, consider voting for me.
Alex Norris
Go to class. Try and interact with what your professors say on a deep level. Really consider the implications of all you learn. If you use a laptop to take notes, you may find yourself on the internet during a lull in the intellectual discussion. This would be a great time to pop over to union.brandeis.edu and vote for me.

At some point you should have lunch in one of our many exciting cafeterii. If you have friends, they would be the ideal people to have lunch with. If, at some point, the conversation turns to your favorite Student Judiciary candidates, you might make mention of me as a possible contender.

In the afternoon, you should get outside. You’ve earned it, you’ve been hard at work in class all day. While you’re playing disc golf out on the quad, maybe you should take a break and run around madly shouting at the top of your lungs, “ALEX NORRIS FOR STUDENT JUDICIARY! I RANK HIM NUMBER ONE IN THE INSTANT RUNOFF OF MY HEART” This is obviously only if you have time.

In the evening, you will no doubt eat dinner. Maybe, if you are with your special someone, you could make subtle mention of how much you wish they were me. You could express that if they voted for me, they would be ten times more likely to get some that night. If your usual sexual preferences would hinder this, I urge you to ignore them.

Finally, if you haven’t voted yet after all this, do it. It’s more important than your homework, even if that isn’t true. And then do what I’ll do, and eagerly await the results.

Bone-crunchingly yours,
Alex Norris

I’m voting for this guy.
Continue reading “I’m voting for this guy”

My name is Aziz. Vote for me.

Aziz Sohail is running for Senator at Large. We’re giving him and his opponents an opportunity to post one post each making the case to be elected. Are you running for election? Wanna make a quick case for your candidacy? Email us at

Creating Change. Inspired by YOU! This is the campaign that I am running on.

So why am I running. I have been inspired by everyone at Brandeis to delve into the campus life. As an international student from Pakistan, I couldn’t have even dreamt of some of the things that the university has to offer. A friend, Zohar Fuller ’10, created her own major called Theater and Social Change and inspired me to join Playback Theater and use Arts for Coexistence. BADASS invited me to Debate regardless of my experience. Sangha, the MSA and Hillel showed me a pluralistic and open view of religion and made me a much more educated person. Sangha preached Coexistence. Triskelion showed the possibility of acceptance. On this campus, inspiration never ends.

I am in love with Brandeis, but let us be honest. As they say ‘Nothing’s perfect’. A large majority (literally) says that the ‘Union sucks’ or that it is not in touch with the Student Body; the food sucks; the library hours can be inconvenient; the contrast between the  badly renovated old buildings and the new buildings is massive. Because of all this that I have been hearing I have decided to run for elections. In effect, YOU have inspired me to run!

Brandeis and everything else on this campus has been so inspirational, so friendly and so helpful! I hope I can inspire you along the way to listen to my ideas and to let me create a change for the first time. Your inspiration and your hope will let me work on issues and bring the voice of the student union to you! It will inspire me to make this campus a much more integrated place and a place where the Union is seen in touch with people rather than not.

Thank you for giving me the chance to have a voice and bring this voice to you. If I win, I will work hardest to let your voice be heard and for you to be inspired and inspire. If I  don’t win, rest assured that I will be working for what I believe in and I will always be grateful for the chance to run.

I look forward to your comments and advice as well as concerns.

Aziz

My name is Beneva. Vote for me!

Beneva Davies is running for Senator at Large. We’re giving her and her opponents an opportunity to post one post each making the case to be elected. Are you running for election? Wanna make a quick case for your candidacy? Email us at

This is my story and my vision. If by the end of this you believe in my vision and what we can do and who we can be, join me. But most of all, even if not for me, get out there and VOTE!! Have your voice be heard. As a current member of senate/student union, I know it is not a perfect institution and I have identified the pitfalls. I’m ready to WORK towards the CHANGE I seek and to work for the change you seek. I believe in GOALS and ACTION– but I understand that to get from one to the other is not always easy. I’m invested in student union because I’m invested in the students. Over the past year I have worked to open up the line of COMMUNICATION between students and student union. I have worked to bring all students together to solve the issues that involve our community and form bridges between different groups on campus because we really are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. I’ve worked hard over the past year, and I will continue to work hard.

If I can leave you with one thing, it’s that as a student of Brandeis University, an institution that was created to seek, serve, and enforce Social Justice, you have the opportunity of a lifetime. you can truly MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What YOU think MATTERs. The goals and dreams you have can be MANIFESTed through ACTION. If you vote for me, I guarantee I will always FIGHT FOR THAT RIGHT.

Thank you.
~Beneva Davies.

My name is Jesse. Vote for me!

Jesse is running for Racial Minority Senator. We’re giving Jesse and his opponent each an opportunity to earn your vote. Please give him your attention: -Sahar

Dear readers of Innermost Parts,

My name is Jesse Vasquez and I am running for Racial Minority Senator. You can vote for me this Thursday, April 22, 2010. When elected, I will strive to be an outspoken, forceful and passionate voice for not only Racial Minorities but for anyone who considers themselves a minority or underrepresented.

If you ask people who know me, they will agree that I am always the person who is not afraid to say what is on everyone’s mind. I am very outspoken and I am aware of the problems presented to minorities at Brandeis (and in general) of all the races as I am multi-racial (Puerto-Rican, British, Dutch and Indonesian) and have a multi-racial family with a Black brother, a Jewish brother and a British sister. I have lived in Washington Heights, a poor New York City neighborhood my whole life and I went to high school in Harlem. I am experienced with dealing with a great number of other races. I am also a POSSE Scholar, an Upward Bound Graduate and I former employee of the National Urban League. Though I will be a forceful voice for Racial Minorities on campus, I also want to represent all minorities and underrepresented
individuals and groups on campus. A main goal of mine is that I want each and every person who walk around Brandeis and see themselves as different to feel a part of the community. I want them all to feel a part of Brandeis and equal, while still being able to embrace their own identity.

As your Senator, I will be willing to listen to everyone; I do not wish to impose any of my own ideals, only the ideals of racial minorities and the underrepresented as a whole. Plus, I will not even wait for you to come to me, I will come to you. I will do this in part by hosting a weekly or semi-weekly open forum, held in a public place, where Racial Minorities and Underrepresented people can gather to hear from me about the state of the Student Union and where I can hear suggestions from you on how to make Brandeis a better place for you or others.

Recognizing more activist groups and encouraging and recruiting for social activism at Brandeis will be essential to my mission. After all, Brandeis is founded on and has a history of social change. I will try to work closely with activists on campus, such as the activists who write for the Brandeis activist blog innermostparts.org.

I believe in a Brandeis where Racial Minorities have a clear voice. I also believe in a Brandeis where no one feels like they are unrepresented. I do not believe in race, I consider it a social construct that is used to create differences between people and justify inequality. As a result, as Senator, I will consider myself a voice for not only Racial Minorities, but anyone who considers themselves a minority or underrepresented.

I look forward to hearing from you and working with you to make Brandeis a better place where everyone has a voice,

Jesse Vasquez

Vote for me this Thursday, April 22, 2010.

Elections Results Are Here!!!

Unfortunately Sahar didn’t win, but this election featured incredible turnout, including over 50% of the campus population in the presidential race.  Congratulations to all the winners!  Numbers will be posted as soon as I can figure out how to attach them.

Dear candidates,
The full results are attached to this e-mail.
The winners are:

President: Daniel Acheampong
Vice President: Shirel Guez
Treasurer: Akash Vadalia
Secretary: Herbie Rosen
UCC: unfilled
Board of Trustees: Supreetha Gubbala
Alumni Association: Savannah Pearlman
F-Board: Sidak Pannu, Jessica Preis, Makensley Lordeus, and ONE EMPTY
Racial Minority F-Board Member: Empty

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

The constitution specifies that if abstain wins an election, the spot remains vacant until the next election. The empty spots will be filled at the next election (round 2) next Thursday. If anyone is interested in these positions, sign up outside of the union office, starting tomorrow, and make sure to attend the mandatory meeting Sunday, at nine pm.

Thank You,
Diana Aronin
Not the secretary, anymore. Who else is excited about this?

Update: Just to clarify, the interjection at the end is Diana’s own words, not mine. I think she’s a perfectly fine Union secretary.

Union Elections Running on an Awfully Cramped Timeline

Sign-ups for the first round of spring Student Union elections were just announced about an hour ago, and I can’t help but think that the time-line they chose doesn’t give students much time to think about running.  The mandatory candidates meeting will be held on April 8th, on the second day back from break.  If you’re leaving Brandeis tomorrow, that means you get less than one day before break to decide if you want to run, and less than two days after you return.  Sure, you have a week-and-a-half vacation to mull it over, but I can’t help but think it’s far more likely for people to put stuff like the Union completely out of their mind.

Getting enough candidates for Union offices has been a major problem in recent election cycles, and by having such a short sign-up period at students’ most distracted times, chances are that a lot of potential candidates might not even realize they’re losing their chance to run.  The time-line should be pushed back a few days to allow people to spread the word and discuss running while the campus is full.

The complete e-mail from Union Secretary Diana Aronin is below the fold, including a list of positions up for election.

Continue reading “Union Elections Running on an Awfully Cramped Timeline”

Leeyat Slyper Sworn In

For those of you who follow such things, the Elections Commission changed its mind on who won the Union Judiciary elections, and Leeyat Slyper was sworn in as the fifth Justice during Wednesday’s inaugurations.  Regardless of what you think about the interpretation of the elections rules, I can’t see anyone complaining too much about this; she clearly wanted the position when no one else did.  Congratulations, Leeyat! (and Justin, Matt, Judah, and Neda!  and everyone else who was sworn in on Wednesday!).

Who’s on Our New UJ?

There’s a debate in the comments of the election results post over who exactly won the Union Judiciary race.  This is a complex situation, and there’s a lot of confusion surrounding it.  I’ve looked at the election rules, the Constitution, and the vote totals as thoroughly as I can, and here are five scenarios on the election results to consider:

Scenario 1. What should happen: “Mandate” should be defined as being chosen by over 50% of the voters. Currently, it appears to be calculated as getting over 50% of the total votes, which is absolutely nonsensical because it’s impossible to get a mandate in a multi-seat election. In that case, Justin, Matt, Judah, and Neda received mandates, and, since Leeyat was chosen by over 10% of the voters (NOT votes), there should be a final round consisting of just her and abstain.

Scenario 2. What should happen otherwise: Article IX, Section 9 6 of the Constitution, which trumps the election rules, should take hold, and the five students with the most votes should be seated. Since Justin, Matt, Judah, Neda, and Leeyat all got more votes than abstain, they should all be seated.

Scenario 3. What should happen under the elections commissioners’ flawed and unconstitutional interpretation of the elections rules: Seeing as no one got over 50% of the vote, all candidates that got over 10% should go to a final round, as long as the final round ballot would be different than the first round ballot. Since this would be the case, there should be a final round consisting of Justin, Matt, Judah, Neda, and abstain.  See how messed up this is?

Scenario 4. What did happen: Justin, Matt, Judah, and Neda were all declared winners since they got over 10%, and Leeyat lost because she didn’t. I can’t find ANY reading of the Constitution/elections rules that supports this position.

Scenario 5. What will happen: Fucked if I know. I just can’t figure what the elections commissioners could possibly be thinking. Why is there always some kind of mistake in determining the results?

Preliminary Elections Results

Hey, we don’t have the official email from Diana yet, but the election results are trickling in.

First off – Neda Eid has been elected as Justice to the Union Judiciary. So has Judah A. Marans, Matthew Kriegman, and Justin Pierre-Louis

Asa Bhuiyan and Rami R. Abdelghafar are the new Senators at Large, Nipun Marwaha and Mark A. Zager are the new Senators for 2012. Michael J. Weil has been elected to Senator for 2010.

Jenna Rubin and Jourdan Cohen are battling it out to be the 2nd Senator for Class of 2011. That other guy won the 1st spot. I forgot his name. Can you remind me? Michael Newborn won the Senatorship (of 2011) in the first round.

Continue reading “Preliminary Elections Results”

UJ Declines to Hear Case on Electoral Eligibility

The Union Judiciary just sent out an e-mail denying certiorari (declining to hear) a case brought by Henry Schleifer, a former write-in candidate for next year’s UJ.  Henry had formed a Facebook group to campaign for the position despite the fact he’s currently studying abroad.  However, because his term would technically begin next Wednesday during spring inaugurations, he is ruled to have violated Article IX Section 2 of the Union Constitution, which states “To be eligible to run for an elected Union office, a student must be… Studying on the Waltham campus for the entire period in which s/he will hold office.”  This decision was made by Tia Chatterjee on the basis of a precedent set in Tansey v. Herman in a 2002 UJ case and upheld on precedent by this year’s Judiciary.

Tia did the right thing by upholding the accepted interpretation of the law, but the fact that this precedent exists at all can only be described as fucking stupid (though even more explicit phrases might be appropriate as well).  Much of the justification for the decision in Tansey v. Herman is no longer applicable under more recent study abroad rules, and I find it to be pretty weak in any case (the entire decision can be found here in PDF form).  It seems that the Constitution has been changed in the time since the decision to make the “studying on the Waltham campus” requirement a little more apparent, but there’s still a very good case that the current interpretation is not what was originally intended.  Tia is quoted in the complaint as saying “Seniors who are quad senators violate that section too. terms for quad senators run from september to september. currently the quad senators for Village, Ridgewood, Mods, Ziv, Off campus and Charles River are all seniors. [sic]”  The Village and Mod Quads are for seniors only; under this interpretation, there is NO ONE who is eligible to represent either in the Senate.

I wish that the UJ had decided to hear this case and challenge precedent, especially considering that there aren’t enough balloted candidates for the five open spots, making it unlikely that anyone would really object.  The quickest way to change the policy from here on in would be to launch a challenge to one of the six aforementioned senators, a challenge which the UJ would be forced to accept for consistency’s sake.  I don’t suggest doing this without that particular senator’s consent; it would be unfair to make a senior who’s about to graduate go through the hassle of defending their seat for just one Senate meeting.  However, if one of those senators did agree, it would be a nice way to end their Union careers by helping to change this foolish precedent.

As it is, juniors studying about during their spring semester are prevented from serving in Union government positions for the final two years of their Brandeis career merely because of the 10 or so days they miss, which, because they fall during finals, are very rarely active days for the Union in any case.  I think most people would agree with me that that just isn’t right.

The full text of the complaint and the order denying certiorari are below the fold.

Continue reading “UJ Declines to Hear Case on Electoral Eligibility”

Updated Elections Results

Well, you all protested the lack of Pigasus results, and the powers-that-be have listened.  Tia Chatterjee sent out an e-mail to the candidates today with the full election results including votes for ineligible candidates.  Pigasus wound up with 17 votes for President (22 if you include the various misspellings).  My favorite protest vote, however, has to be the person who voted Donald Rumsfeld for Vice President.

The complete e-mail is below the fold.

Continue reading “Updated Elections Results”

Polls Open for Winter Elections

The polls are open now for the Winter Round of Union elections.  Everyone is eligible to vote in at least one race, so make sure to take the time to cast your ballot.  Time after time I have seen how just one Senator can start the ball rolling on a project that benefits the entire Brandeis community; every race can be important.

We got 100% participation in our first election questionnaire, and I hope you find it useful in making your decisions.  Below is a full list of candidates along with links to their questionnaires:

Vote here.  We’ll have the results posted as soon as we receive them on Wednesday morning.

Covering Winter Union Elections

Election day for the four Union positions open during this winter round is just two days away.  Usually, winter elections are limited to just one or two races, but for a variety of reasons, this year will have four open slots, including one with a constituency of the entire ungraduate student body.  The open seats are:

  • Senator for Ridgewood Quad.  Ridgewood was unoccupied last semester, so there was no Senator.
  • Senator for Village Quad.  Not a single person ran in the fall, so the seat has been unoccupied.
  • Justice of the Union Judiciary.  Danielle Shmuely resigned to study abroad this semester.
  • Senator for the Class of 2010.  Paul Balik resigned for personal reasons. (Incidently, Paul’s resignation represents a great loss for the Senate.  His thoughtful, meticulous style  made him a very highly respected voice in debate, and his leadership on the Bikes Task Force is a key reason why Brandeis will have bicycles to lend in March.)

We’re trying a new style of election coverage during this cycle that I hope will help the candidates connect with those in the Innermost Parts community.  Each candidate running for an open position was sent a short questionnaire covering issues of relevance to their elections.  Their answers will be posted as they’re received, and we’ll post a link to them on election day.  Hopefully, voters will be able to use these answers to make more informed choices in these races.  The questions sent to the candidates are:

For Senate candidates:

  1. What new or existing projects would you like to work on in the Senate?
  2. What experience do you have that you think would help you be an effective Senator?
  3. What issues do you find most pressing for your specific constituency?
  4. One of the four pillars upon which Brandeis was founded is the commitment to social justice.  How do you interpret this commitment, and what role does the Student Union Senate have in fulfilling it?
  5. What do you consider the most pressing issues facing Brandeis as a result of the budget deficits, and what role would you play as a Senator in working on them?

For Judiciary candidates:

  1. What experience do you have that you think would help you be an effective Justice?
  2. What would your approach be in judging a case, and how do you think it might be different from the approach others would take?
  3. As a Union government officer, would you involve yourself in Union projects beyond the Judiciary?  If so, what?