Brandeis students voted for new Student Union representatives on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
Charlotte Franco ’15 was elected as vice president while Emil Koenig ’18 won the Midyear senator election. No one was elected to the position of Ziv Quad senator, and the result for the Rosenthal Quad senator was invalid due to an error that left one candidate’s name off the ballot. The elections for these positions will be included in next week’s round of elections.
Franco ran against Hirvelt Megie ’15 for vice president, an election in which 746 students voted. Fifty percent of the students in this election voted for Franco, with 29 percent voting for Megie. 130 students abstained in this election, indicating they felt that no candidate was qualified for the position.
Franco has been a part of the Student Union since her first year, when she was the senator for North Quad. During her term she was a member of several committees including the Dining Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. She was a senator at large during the 2012-2013 school year and has served as the vice president previously.
Koenig did not have his name on the ballot but rather won through write-ins. Of the 44 students who voted in the Midyear elections, 29 chose to write in the name of a candidate. Twelve students, or 27 percent of voters, chose Gaby Schwartz ’18.
Koenig discussed his candidacy in an email with The Brandeis Hoot. “As a new student, if elected, I would be representing an entire body of new students. Even though we have all been here for three weeks now, none of us are really familiar with the issues that the student population has to face. For that reason, if elected I would first strive to learn everything I can about the state of the school and convey that information to my Midyear class,” he said.
No candidates ran for the position of Ziv Quad Senator; instead, 30 students chose to write in their preferences for the seat. Their responses included “Ziv Dog,” “Mod Cat” and “Batman.”
The ballots for the Rosenthal Quad Senator were invalid. Sneha Walia ’15, president of the Student Union, wrote in an email to The Hoot, “Something got messed up on the ballot before it went out for Rosie Quad senator that caused one of the candidates to not be listed on the ballot. Both candidates were notified that this occurred and that these results are invalid because they did not include all candidates.”
Up for election next week are the secretary of the Student Union, Ziv Quad senator, and Rosenthal Quad senator. Interested students are required to attend a meeting in the Student Union office of the Shapiro Campus Center, Monday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.
