The Senate discussed a few reminders, such as spreading the word about Kindness Day events occurring throughout the week and a reminder to purchase the remaining Turkey Shuttle tickets to Logan Airport.
Student Union Vice President, Courtney Thrun ’22, then brought up how Wireless Brandeis Radio Station (WBRS) recently reached out to the Student Union to collaborate on a potential event with them and the Campus Activities Board (CAB). WBRS has a hip-hop artist in mind, Cordae, for a Q&A and album listening party. After mentioning this idea, Thrun asked the Senate to brainstorm any other potential artists that may fit the Brandeis community better or if Cordae is a good fit.
The Senate discussed Marathon, which A-Board member and Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program Senator, Gonzalo Palafox ’25, explained. Marathon is the deadline for when clubs must decide their budget and pass it on to A-Board, who will decide whether or not to approve the budget. As of the Senate meeting, clubs have two weeks to submit their budget to A-Board.
Ashna Kelkar ’24, dining committee chair, discussed resolving the problem of dirty dinnerware and utensils as well as creating more options for the stir fry station at Rustic Roots. Additionally, Kelkar explained how all hand sanitizers in dining locations will be changed for better scented sanitizers, and the dining team is working on adding a hot panini station at My Zone which will be ready in the next few months.
Services and Outreach Committee chair, Shannon Smally ’22, discussed midnight buffet roles and how she will begin ordering materials for the event soon.
Charlotte Li ’24, Club Support Committee chair, discussed working with new clubs and potentially taking on a new project with the Department of Student Activities
Chair of the Facilities and Housing Committee, Meli Jackson ’25, talked about their work with the Department of Community Living and Student Accessibility Services in making housing more accessible such as adding automatic door buttons in more locations.
Chair of the Sustainability Committee, Peyton Gillespie ’25, mentioned continuing previous work and meeting with other senate chairs to make their work more sustainable.
Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund Senator, Cameron Johnson ’25, stated his success in getting four proposals approved such as beautification of North and East quads, and the beautification of the Dharmic prayer room with materials representative of the religion. These projects will be finished by March 15, 2022 and will begin following Thanksgiving break.
Members on A-Board updated the Senate following the addition of new members from the special election. A-Board is currently preparing for marathon and acclimating its new members to A-Board processes.
Thrun moved the Senate along to discuss unfinished business surrounding Midnight Buffet’s senate money resolution. Smally presented the senate money resolution. She went over the vendors for the event and discussed how the event is more expensive than in years past due to an increase in prices because of COVID-19 and vendor’s inability to donate food also because of COVID-19. Smally mentioned how dietary restrictions will be covered for additional costs, but that a switch to sustainable cutlery and dinnerware saved the Union over $200 since last week’s estimate. The switch to sustainable materials is covered by the Brandeis Sustainability Fund.
The total cost of Midnight Buffet fell at $6,082 which was unanimously passed via vote by acclamation on Sunday.
During senator reports, multiple senators mentioned a concern regarding housing for East quad residents. Sofia Lee ’24, brought up an issue faced by students living in doubles in East quad alone. The Department of Community Living sent out information to students in these circumstances telling them to consolidate and prepare for potentially moving in with another student in preparation of Midyear arrival. Lee was concerned with how little time was given to students, and the limit they have on who to room with.
East Quad Senator Sahil Muthuswami ’24 responded to this concern, stating he is setting up a meeting with the East area coordinator to learn more about why this process is happening and how to go about it. Additionally, Muthuswami mentioned how these concerns will be discussed further at the facilities and housing meeting on Monday, Nov. 8.
The issue of refilling condom dispensers in residence halls was also discussed as both DCL and SSIS members are unable to refill the dispensers. Members of services and outreach are planning on refilling them during their meeting.
Other senators discussed continuing their many ongoing projects. Nick Kanan ’23 mentioned his sustainability projects such as working to make the Maker Lab more sustainable.
Senator Emily Adelson ’23 was applauded for her work on planning food vendors for Midnight Buffet.
Palafox mentioned working on a potential community service project for members of the Transitional Year Program.
The Senate meeting wrapped up by discussing the importance of spreading the word about Kindness Day events and Midnight Buffet. Additionally, the work done with Period Activists at ’Deis (PAD) to get free menstrual products in residence halls was emphasized, and the survey of preferred products and locations was shared with members.
