Union government – Innermost Parts

Activist Goals and the Student Union

Last month, I applied to be the Director of Community Advocacy on then-Union President-elect Daniel Acheampong’s Executive Board. The spot ultimately went to someone else; namely, JV Souffrant, who was sworn in several weeks ago and who I’m sure will do a great job with the position. I’m not too disappointed about losing the spot — it means more free time for me next year, and I have no problem with the idea that someone else might have simply been more qualified. However, the interview process itself gave me reason for worry, not because of what it means for me, but because of what it means for the future of activist goals in next year’s Student Union.

In my interview, I found that most of the questions I was asked tended to be about the same issues: I had written for Innermost Parts, I had written for the Hoot, and I had a reputation for being outspoken when it comes to activist causes on campus. The impression I got is that these were significant, and possibly even disqualifying, black marks against my application, not only for what I had actually said and done, but also for the associations I had. And it wasn’t only me who felt that way. A friend of mine also got telling questions on his connection with Innermost Parts, and another friend was grilled on her involvement with Brandeis DFA. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a ton of respect for Daniel Acheampong, and I think he’ll make a great Union President. However, I also want to warn him against the misconception that the Union cannot be both activist-friendly and effective at the same time.

During Jason Gray’s presidency, the Union was full of outspoken campus activists who made no secret of the fact that they intended to pursue an activist agenda as Union officers. In addition, Jason Gray himself was very friendly to activist causes and made them some of the centerpieces of his tenure. As a result of these factors, the laundry-list of successful projects is quite extensive and impressive. The Committee for Endowment Ethics and Responsibility was formed to pursue greater endowment transparency. The DeisBikes program was formed to encourage green forms of transportation. The Senate Social Justice Committee held several excellent forums on educating students about their rights in search and seizure situations. The advising process for students accused of Rights and Responsibilities violations was reorganized and strengthened. The Clubs in Service program was started to connect Brandeis students with the Waltham community. There are more examples; these just come off the top of my head.

There are three important points to keep in mind when considering these activist achievements:

Even though these policies realized some goals of the activist community, they do not benefit only those from activist backgrounds, nor were they designed and implemented solely by self-identified activists. Lots of people use and love Deis Bikes. Lots of clubs have participated in Clubs in Service. Anyone can be falsely accused of a violation and enjoy the protection of a strengthened review process.
Pursuing these policies did not keep the Union from making tangible improvements on more day-to-day issues. The daily newspaper program was started to give out free papers in the Campus Center. Significant dining reforms were implemented. The Health Center and the Career Center both received thorough evaluations and reforms. The bread-and-butter Union events — the shuttle services and the Midnight Buffets — were executed as well as ever. The Union has been very successful in this area in subsequent years, but Gray’s Union proved that working on activist issues did not distract student focus or administrator attention from them.
The greatest coups for student authority — the open forums, student involvement in committees, and generally increased transparency from the administration in the wake of the budget crisis — succeeded in spite of, and even because of, the activist-friendly nature of the Union. The large-scale student protests and demands for involvement gave Jason the leverage he needed to persuade the administrators to meet student concerns; we could not have gained so many concessions if it weren’t for the activist presence that was felt both outside and inside the Union. Though I’ve heard people share concerns that an outspoken, activist agenda from the Student Union would only drive the administration away from working with the Union, I think we proved the opposite is true. The administration knows it is part of their job to keep students satisfied, and it is beneficial on all levels to express our dissatisfaction clearly. As long as we refrain from being disrespectful, there’s no reason to stifle our message in service to a counterproductive notion of propriety.

Unfortunately, the Union has backtracked from their aggressive and productive work on activist goals. It’s very hard to point out any projects originating from the Union in the past year that match the scope of those I mentioned earlier, and I fear that our new Union could continue on the same path. The stakes are high; like it or not, the structures of the Union still remain the easiest way to get the ear of the administration and create positive change on campus, and activist causes will be severely handicapped without at least some measure of institutionalized Union support. I urge the Union to keep the example of Jason Gray in mind; part of the reason he was so highly regarded as Union President was his success in so many areas that both benefited the entire campus community and actualized our founding principles of commitment to social justice.

A Tribute to President Andy Hogan

How many of you have eaten in Sherman since Passover break? I am right now. I’ve been eating at Sherman a lot more since the latest round of improvements, and it’s become more crowed than it used to be since word has spread about the changes. There are more options, more food cooked to order, and everything seems fresher and more appetizing. All of a sudden, Sherman seems like less of a joke and more of a decent place to enjoy a meal. And while credit should go to the Brandeis administration and Dining Services for their responsiveness to the community’s complaints, we should also remember what helped get the ball rolling on the path to large-scale dining reform: the advocacy and hard work of former Union President Andy Hogan.

I’m living in the Charles River apartments next year, as I’m sure many of you are. If someone had told me before this semester that I’d wind up in Grad, I’d have been sorely disappointed; visions of leaky buildings and broken appliances would have crossed my mind. However, I’m now excited for next year. Grad is receiving a thorough renovation, and I’ll be one of the first to inhabit the fresh new living space. Once again, I, along with the rest of the student body, owe a thank you to Andy Hogan for making this happen.

I feel that Andy often received an undeserved bad rap during his time in office. He was censured by the Union Senate over the insignificant midyear senator amendment, and though he avoided the impeachment that Diana Aronin suffered, she at least got a public validation through her decisive reelection. Despite the fact that he did everything he could to minimize the issue and keep it from becoming a distraction, he bore the brunt of the bad press the Union received in the wake of the impeachment fiasco. The nadir came in the February 5th Hoot, which featured an editorial cartoon cruelly depicting the Student Union as a beheaded chicken. The symbolism was tacky and completely uncalled for, particularly as the “head” of the Union continued succeeding in his advocacy projects and improving campus life.

Adding additional BranVan service during high traffic times? Thanks, Andy. Working to eliminate wasted energy by shutting off after-hours lights? Thanks, Andy. Expanding the awesome Clubs in Service project? Thanks, Andy. Getting a student voice on the powerful Presidential Search Committee? Thanks, Andy. The Union’s focus on student surveys this year allowed it to keep a finger on the pulse of the Brandeis community, and it used that knowledge for tangible results in many small but tangible ways, improving everything from our dining to our bathrooms.

Jason Gray definitely left some massive shoes to fill as Union President, and I can’t pretend I agree with every decision Andy has made over the past year. But his term in office was punctuated with success on a number of levels, and I hope that the student body recognizes that. Despite the manufactured controversy, a lot of us were looking only for results, and I think that Andy Hogan delivered. I hope Andy knows that his hard work didn’t occur in a vacuum; I, at least, was watching, and I appreciate what he was able to do.

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.

A Closing Case for Sahar Massachi

We as a student body this year are lucky to have four strong and competent candidates running to fill the Student Union Presidency, probably the most important student position in terms of ability to create change on campus by working with the administration. JV Souffrant has done great work in raising huge amounts of money to help devastated families in Haiti. Matt Kriegsman has proven himself as the leader of Chabad at Brandeis. Daniel Acheampong has taken on probably the most thankless task in the student government, serving as Union Treasurer. Any of them could do a good job as Union President.

However, I’ve known that I’m supporting Sahar Massachi for the position since the very beginning of the election. The reason why is simple: Sahar is one of the most transformative people I’ve ever had the privilege to know. It’s the same reason why I’ve written for him for three years on Innermost Parts, the same reason why I’ve worked with him on a number of successful campus projects, and the same reason why he’s been one of my best friends since I entered Brandeis University. Time and time again, I’ve seen how Sahar can create positive change for the good of the campus community through his tireless work ethic and strong leadership. He’s thoroughly changed the way I think about college activism, and I know he can change the way we think of the Student Union.

Sahar’s extensive resume tells a story of a student active in all walks of campus life, and his accomplishments are very impressive. However, what’s even more impressive to me is that without him, no project he’s ever worked on could have even gotten off the ground. He doesn’t just fill established roles effectively, he fights with everything he’s got to create new roles for improving student life. When nobody was talking about the MSA lounge vandalization, Sahar did something about it. When students felt powerless in the face of massive budget cuts, Sahar organized a unified and effective student response. Without Sahar, Brandeis as a whole would be a little different and a little worse off, and I’d be hard pressed to name anyone else I could honestly say that about.

Regardless of who wins today’s election, two things are certain. First, the Student Union will have a qualified leader set to take the reigns. Second, Sahar will be working to improve student life and the activist cause at Brandeis. It’s part of who he is, and win or lose, he’ll still be doing what he thinks is right. But we have a chance to put our most powerful position in the hands of a transformative leader, and I firmly believe that we should take this rare opportunity. That is why I’m asking you to join me in voting for Sahar Massachi for President of the Student Union.

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”

Getting Rid of Robert’s Rules

One of the biggest arguments in favor of the Union government restructuring proposal was that it would remove the difficult parliamentary procedure of the Senate. The new Union Assembly would have been a smaller body, free from the obscure minutiae of Robert’s Rules of Order and easier for students to approach and work with.

Even if the amendment had passed, it’s uncertain that this would actually have happened. The operating procedures for the Union governing bodies are found in the Bylaws, not the Constitution, and it would have been up to the Assembly members to decide to make the change. The five member Union Judiciary constantly chose to employ the most formal procedures possible; it’s entirely likely that the larger Assembly would have retained Robert’s Rules.

Still, the proposal had the support of at least 10 Senators, and I think that very few people would disagree that the devotion to Robert’s Rules is probably the biggest detriment to the Senate, both in student opinion and in quick and easy decision-making. So how can the Union get rid of Robert’s Rules for good and replace it with a less formal, more appropriate debate format?

Actually, it would be very easy. In fact, the Union Senate could do it at their next meeting, and we’d never have to worry about “points of order” or “motions to the previous question” again. All it would take is a Bylaw amendment, which would need to be approved by a 2/3 vote of the Senate, and any Senator could submit the legislation. I don’t know what procedure would replace it, but I’m sure it wouldn’t take much research to find a procedure more suited for smaller assemblies. Alternatively, the Senate could just go without a formal procedure (as it does when it enters committee of the whole), which works surprisingly well as long as the chair is active in keeping the group focused. Anything that allows the focus of the debate to be on the merits of the proposal rather than on the debate process itself would be an improvement.

There’s definitely a proper time and place for parliamentary procedure, but it’s not in a 20 person student assembly that focuses mainly on chartering clubs. There’s nothing keeping the Senate from changing the way it operates, and no one likes the way it works now. Why don’t they do something about it?

Union Restructuring: Why Did It Fail?

Of the changes proposed by the Constitutional Review Committee, none received more discussion than the Union government restructuring — the elimination of the Senate and the creation of a smaller Assembly and a Club Support Board. It was endorsed as a great way to improve Union government efficiency by a wide range of campus sources, from the Justice editorial board to President Andy Hogan to our own writers. Despite this, it was one of only three (out of 13) proposals that didn’t get the 2/3 majority of the student vote needed to be added to the Constitution. So why did it fail, and what can we learn from it to fix the problems in the Union government?

I’ll start by saying that I really didn’t like the restructuring proposal. I’m not sure that it would have actually solved the problems it tried to address, and there were several consequences of its changes that made me pretty uncomfortable. It would have taken fewer students to make consequential decisions like de-chartering clubs, it would have raised the electoral barriers of participation higher, and it would have set up some explicit conflicts of interest for Club Support members.

But I doubt that even the small percentage of students who took the time to vote actually looked into the amendment very deeply. Many of them probably saw the amendment for the first time when they voted, and their priorities were probably on amendments they saw as more directly impacting their lives on campus (SSIS, SEA, etc.). Still, they chose to support most of the other proposals, even one which only changed a single word.

I think the problem with the restructuring proposal was much more simple: there was no immediately obvious benefit to the changes it offered. So they wanted to make the Senate smaller and move the club chartering process to another body — why? There’s a perception that students hate the Union because of its overly formal procedures, but I don’t think that’s true. After all, how many students have to deal with the Senate on a regular, extended basis? I think the real concern is what the Union actually does and the apparent disconnect between the Union government and the students, and there’s no reason to think that shrinking or dividing the governing bodies would have made a concrete change.

Thus, to most people, the government restructuring came down to a simple rearrangement of the deck chairs. When you take out the votes of the CRC, the E-Board, and the Senate (who all actively worked to put the amendment on the ballot), you’re basically left with a coin flip from the voters. There are definite problems with the way the Union works, but solving them requires a more direct approach than the CRC took toward the review process.

Priorities

The front page of this week’s Justice has, as its lead article, a story about the Constitutional Review Committee’s final report. The article is well-written, comprehensive, and informative, and it’s accompanied by a nice, eye-catching picture. The problem is that I don’t think anyone cares.

The CRC is one of those topics that’s only interesting to the very small minority of students who follow the Union closely. Its meetings were held behind closed doors, its mission is basically just a reshuffling of the Union government, and even the best changes it proposes will measurably affect only a small percentage of the campus community. You don’t have to take my word for it; in same issue’s ‘Brandeis Talks Back’ section, all four of the students they interview express complete apathy to the process. Yes, the report is significant enough to merit coverage, but does it really deserve its front page status?

Meanwhile, you’d have to turn to page 5 of the paper to learn that a potential hate crime occurred on the Brandeis campus this weekend. The newly-refurbished Muslim Student Association suite was viciously vandalized on Friday. The wall in Imam Talal Eid’s office was permanently damaged, and his personal copy of the Quran was stolen. The nature of the theft makes it hard to view this as anything but an attack against campus Muslims, and it absolutely sickens me to think that such a vile invasion could happen at the school I call home. But apparently, it’s worth only one-sixth of a page buried in the News section, next to a full page of advertisements.

During Diana Aronin’s impeachment and trial, many people complained about the petty disagreements that the Union officers turned into a public spectacle. I agree with them, but the campus media need to be held culpable as well for turning what should have been an internal Union affair into a weekly front-page spectacle. If our Union government suffers from self-importance, it is only because they’re used to getting undue attention for every minor issue. Meanwhile, the papers will continue to alienate their readers if they glorify topics that are ultimately irrelevant for most students. I suspect that students are far more interested in uncovering hate on our campus than on how big the Union Senate will be next year, and I think the every campus media outlet needs to reassess what its reporting priorities should be.

Andy Hogan, Our New President

Today is Andy Hogan’s second full day on the job as Student Union President, and despite this high-profile position, I feel he’s still something of an unknown quantity to much of the student body, much more so than Jason Gray was last year. There are several reasons for this: the Presidential race was much less competitive and low-profile than last year’s, Andy has only been a Union officer for one year, and his work has been much more organizational than Jason’s very public advocacy for the Student Bill of Rights. However, in a very short period of time, Andy has quietly built up a stellar Union resume. Last fall, he handily won the North Quad Senate seat despite running as a sophomore in a mostly freshman quad. In just one semester of work, he impressed Jason Gray enough to be named Director of Community Advocacy. And last month, he won the Union Presidency by over 350 votes. His talents and character have already changed the Brandeis community for the better and are quickly gaining wide recognition; however, for those who still don’t really know Andy or who would like to know him better, I’d like to give a quick introduction to our new Union President.

I should start by saying that I’m far from an unbiased source. Though I felt that being off campus made it appropriate for me to refrain from public comment on the spring elections, I was personally very happy to see Andy win. But my relationship with him is much deeper than mere Union politics. Andy has been one of my best friends since our first few weeks at Brandeis. We joined (and subsequently left) TRON together, played together on countless intramural sports teams, served together on the Squash club E-Board, served together on the Union Senate, roomed next to one another, shared music, been repeatedly mistaken for brothers, and generally shared some of the best times I’ve had at Brandeis. He was my campaign manager during my run for the Vice Presidency, and I still credit my victory more to him than to anyone else. So yeah, I kinda like the guy. But I also know him very well, and looking as objectively as possible, I can say that I think he’ll make an excellent leader for the Student Union.

Innermost Parts is an activist community, so it’s of particular importance to us that Andy has established himself as a leader on activist issues in the Student Union. One of his first major projects was planning the Combating Hate Fundraiser, which broke all attendance expectations and raised over $2,000 for a black church that was burned in protest of Barack Obama’s victory. He followed that with another successful fundraiser for rape victims in the Rwandan genocide. On a more Brandeisian level, he played a huge role in launching and running the Clubs in Service program, and he helped dorm-storm with Student for Environment Action to raise awareness of water-bottle reduction. He’s the only Union officer I’ve seen to devote a page of his campaign website just to explaining his views on the importance of social justice at Brandeis. Clearly, he intends to make these issues a focal point of the Union’s work next year.

Andy is particularly dedicated to the Union government’s role as an advocacy body, and one of his primary focuses is on bringing the Union’s work to every student. In this way, I see his mentality as a natural successor to Jason’s core value of increased student involvement, both within the Union and in the entire Brandeis community. He was one of the first senators to join the new Senate Outreach Committee, and he was one of its most active members, drafting the Stall Street Journal and planning events targeted at spreading awareness of the Union’s work to freshmen. Critically, he views outreach as a tool for generating student feedback, not as a self-promotion gimmick. He gave us the cell phone amplifier in Usdan in response to numerous student complaints, working successfully with administrators to improve student life.

His plans for next year come naturally from these concerns, and I’m very excited to see some of them implemented. I’m particularly impressed by his ideas in the long-overdue area of club collaboration reform, which will create an online system for booking spaces and discussing co-sponsorship, making event planning quicker and less expensive. Andy also wants to improve methods for instantaneous student feedback on Union projects. Discussion boards have been very effective at generating diverse ideas from the whole community for the CARS subcommittees, and there is no reason why they cannot be used on a Union level as well. He remains committed to starting and expanding environmentally-friendly projects like Deis Bikes, and his planned social justice identity forums will inspire discussion on the many ways this pillar of Brandeis is interpreted in the community, ultimately creating connections for socially responsible programs where none currently exist.

This past year has been unprecedented in the scope and importance of the Union’s successes, largely because of Andy’s contributions. I expect Andy Hogan’s leadership to make next year just as productive as this one has been.

Thank You, Jason Gray

If you’re a regular reader of Innermost Parts, you probably already know how I feel about Jason Gray. Getting to know him over the past year has been a complete pleasure and an honor for me, and I cannot repay my debt of gratitude for all he has done for me. As a newly elected Vice President with little formal Union experience, I relied on his leadership to become comfortable on the Executive Board. During the fall semester, his guidance never failed to point me in the right direction to accomplish the goals I had in office. And when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to remain at Brandeis in the spring, his compassion and friendship gave me the strength to choose the path that was best for me, even in the most difficult moments. But his influence this year extended far beyond me; it’s safe to say that every student at Brandeis has profited from his peerless talents and genuine concerns as President of the Student Union. With yesterday’s spring inaugurations, Jason’s term leading the Union has come to an end, and I want to take a quick moment to summarize all he has meant to the Brandeis community.

Jason told me once that, more than anything else, he wanted his legacy to be as an advocate for student rights and a promoter for student involvement. “It’s about you” was his campaign slogan, and he never forgot to represent every viewpoint in each project he took on. When many students were complaining about the service they received at the health center, he convinced the administration to give the center a through review, one which led to a number of substantive improvements. When the student body opted to use the SAF rollover money for the creation of a new weight room, Jason not only consulted student athletes to determine what how we could purchase the most effective equipment, he made sure to find space for the dance groups which were displaced, and he fought to ensure that all students had equal priority to use it. When the budget crisis hit and students felt left out of the decision making process, Jason fought to put students on all the newly formed committees, and he successfully planned town hall forums and informational meetings to give every student a clear picture of our finances and a voice in our future.

But his influence was also felt in far more subtle ways. As leader of the Union government, Jason created an environment where every officer felt capable of leading his or her own projects. ‘Deis Bikes happened thanks to the incredibly hard work of the eight-member Special Task Force on Bicycle Sharing, but their job was made easier because Jason would solve any logistical problems that came up with the administration. When both the Coalition for Food Services Reform and the University Dining Committee were working to solve problems in dining, Jason helped to iron out the groups’ differences and to coordinate their efforts to achieve meaningful changes. It was not rare for him to spend over eleven hours a day in meetings and on other Union work while still attending classes and staying on top of his schoolwork. And not only did he always serve his mandatory Union office hours, he would frequently serve them in Usdan or in the Shapiro atrium so he could open himself to as many students as possible.

These accomplishments only scratch the surface of everything he achieved as Union President. Proof of his success can be seen in the universal acclaim he received. His praises have been sung publicly by trustees and administrators, activists, campus publications, athletes, and his fellow Union officers. He has, in many ways, changed the way we perceive the Union on campus and ushered in a new level of student involvement in every facet of the University. And while he has left the formal power structure of the Union government, I’m sure that he will continue to serve as an active voice for the causes he believes in next year. Thank you, Jason, for all you have done for me and for Brandeis, and I know that I’m just one among the many who recognize what you have meant to us.

An Update on the Clubs in Service Program

With all the press the Union government has received for its work in securing a student voice in budgetary committees, some of its other triumphs have flown below the radar. The Clubs in Service program is one of my favorite Union initiatives this year, and its great intentions and success are unfortunately under-recognized.

Jason Gray first announced and described the program in November during last semester’s State of the Union:

The University’s Department of Community Service has the resources and connections for all clubs to be able to partner with Waltham and provide services to the community.

For example, the debate team could teach public speaking at a local school. An a capella group could sing at a local shelter. Your club can play chess or knit at a nursing home, shoot hoops at the Boys and Girls Club, cook a holiday meal for those in need, or organize a talent show at the YMCA. The opportunities are endless.

Every club could have a community-service component to it.

Today we challenge every club and organization to engage the community in service, and we commit ourselves to helping this challenge succeed.

The Hoot’s article on the speech included my very positive first impression of the idea. And yes, I am about to blockquote myself:

Student Union Vice President Adam Hughes ’11 said after the address that while the Union’s executive board has yet to discuss how it will specifically aid clubs in adding a community service component, he hopes to make it as easy as possible for clubs to meet Gray’s “audacious call to action.”

Hughes said he imagines that the Union would “spend a significant amount of time next semester” helping to connect clubs with Waltham organizations.

“We don’t want this to be a huge ordeal for any club,” Hughes said. “This is a great actualization of Brandeis goals, and we want to make it as easy as possible for clubs to achieve.”

Here on Innermost Parts, Loki was more to the point:

Ideologically, I was most struck by the point near the end of the speech when Jason challenged every single club to get involved in the surrounding community. This. is. a. fucking. great. idea.

I was involved in some of the early planning discussions when the program itself began to take shape. The Union government would do the publicity, reaching out to clubs by e-mail and in person to get them on board. They would send the clubs to the Waltham Group, who already had a great list of contacts and potential programs for clubs to be involved in. The Waltham Group would work with the club leaders to plan a service event that would incorporate each club’s unique focus and to work out all the logistics. In the end, we would be left with the perfect synergy of student resources to take advantage of our ability and desire to improve the Waltham community.

The program was launched in early February. Class of 2012 Senator Akash Vadalia led the Union side of the program, and his great outreach laid the groundwork for success. His goal was to get 15 clubs to participate in this, the program’s first semester, which would lay the groundwork for expanding it in the future.

Did we get there? Just ask Jason:

This semester, some 31 clubs have signed up to participate and involve their clubs in community service.

Jason and Akash deserve tons of credit for leading the program to success beyond anyone’s expectations, and the Waltham Group worked tirelessly to accommodate every club sent their way. And though Clubs in Service has already done amazing work in the community, its future is even brighter. The program has a friend in a very high place: Union President-Elect Andy Hogan. Andy made the expansion and institutionalization of Clubs in Service one of his foremost campaign platforms, and with his strong track record of planning successful community service projects (the Combating Hate fundraiser, the Rwandan rape victim fundraiser, past involvement in Clubs in Service), I’m confident that he’ll make the program even stronger.

If you’re involved with a club that hasn’t participated in Clubs in Service yet, you should definitely try to get it involved. I’m not sure if the program is still active this semester, but it’s worth finding out. At the very least, it’s never too early to start planning for next year. Contact Jason (jgray@brandeis.edu), Akash (akashv@brandeis.edu), or Andy (alhogan@brandeis.edu) for more information (I’m not sure who would be best right now, but I’m sure any of them could point you in the right direction). Community service is such a great way to make a difference in so many people’s lives, and I’m proud that Brandeis has proven itself a leader yet again.

Cell Phones? In Usdan?!?!

Here’s Andy Hogan, the Union’s Director of Community Advocacy, discussing the new cell phone amplifier in lower Usdan. Andy was the driving force behind the project and secured funding for it from the Office of Facilities Services.:

As of Monday morning, you can now use your cell phones in lower Usdan. The amplifier that was installed takes reception from outside and projects it into the building. If your phone has bad reception normally, than this is not too much of an improvement for you (sorry T-mobile users). However, if your phone gets normal reception outside, you will now be able to use it while eating in lower. As for the range of the amplifier, the stairs between upper and lower still has poor reception but I have been able to get service from Home Zone to the C-store. If you want to look for it, its installed on one of the walls of the skylight in the middle of lower.

As I was dormstorming during my campaign for North Quad Senator, one of the main issues people had was cell phone reception on campus. Many people’s phones did not even work in their dorm but mainly people complained about lower Usdan. At first, I looked for improving reception on the whole campus. When this proved too expensive and difficult to coordinate with the companies I looked specifically for lower Usdan. I found this amplifier and spoke to facilities about installing it. There have been many complaints about this project as a waste of funds in a time of cutting down, as a luxury. This is a useful project because even though we are cutting back it is important to always improve our campus. We should not just shut down in a time of crisis, we should fight for improvement and even luxuries. When I went around to my constituents, they gave me a way to improve the campus and as a student government representative I wanted to fulfill their suggestion.