On Sept. 16, Student Union secretary Ashna Kelkar ’24 announced the results of the recent election to the Brandeis community via email.
Voting opened on Sept. 14 at midnight and closed 24 hours later at 11:59 p.m., explained the voting email sent by Kelkar.
Overall, 583 students voted in the election, with the Class of 2026 making up over half of the voting body, with 59.35% of the votes. The Class of 2023 made up the smallest number of votes with only 43 individuals voting, making up 7.38% of the vote.
Twenty-nine total seats were up for election including 24 Senate seats, three Judiciary seats and two Allocations Board (A-board) positions available. Overall 16 Senate seats were filled, all Judiciary seats were filled and one of the A-board positions was filled.
Both positions for Class of 2026 Senators were filled, with Fiona Wang ’26 and Tyler Hupart ’26 winning against Stephen Gaughan ’26 and Bryan Jiang ’26. Wang won with 31.87% of the total vote, with Hupart and Gaughan neck in neck with 22.16% and 20.7% of the votes respectively.
Both winning students noted a significant connection to building community at Brandeis in their candidate bios, with Wang stating that “your complaints are my top priority; my goal is to grow with Brandeis.” Hupart noted the importance of students in the political process, writing, “at the end of the day, you are Brandeis’s prime asset, irrespective of race, gender, course of study, personal beliefs, or any other possible dividers one could imagine, and the Student Union would be foolish to not employ said resource.”
Canadian student Koby Gottlieb ’26 won one of the positions of International Student Senator in an unopposed race. Writing in his candidate bio, he said, “I like to embody the stereotype that Canada is one of the friendliest countries in the world.”
The position of Class of 2024 Senator was another unopposed race, and was won by Sahil Muthuswami ’24, with one open seat for the position left. Muthuswami emphasized his history in the Student Union in his candidate bio, as well as to “expect clear communication, determination, and consistency” from him in the role.
The three Associate Justice positions open were filled by Farishta Ali ’24, Alyssa Golden ’26 and Zachary Miller ’25 who won against the other two candidates Maxwell Weiner and Jenna Lewis. Ali obtained 17.06% of the vote, Golden won 24.45 percent of the vote and Miller won with 17.77% of the votes. Noteworthy write-in options for the position included one student submitting “Louis D Brandeis” for the role.
In her candidate bio, Ali wrote that she will “strive to uphold the standards of the Student Union Constitution” as a member of the Judiciary. Golden promised to “provide accountability and transparency” as Associate Justice in her bio and Miller highlighted his extensive legal knowledge in his bio.
Erica Hwang ’25 and James Brosgol ’25 won the two open seats for Class of 2025 Senators against Andrew Zweiler ’25. Hwang won about 44.98% of the vote and Brosgol won 38.86%.
In her candidate bio, Hwang noted how she wants to implement “more services that promote campus accessibility” while working on the Senate. Brosgol noted his previous experience in the Brandeis Student Union, and wrote in his bio that he “will serve with unwavering commitment to the truth and to integrity.”
Chana Thomas ’25 won the seat for Skyline/Rosie Senator. Thomas ran unopposed, and wrote in her candidate bio, “I would like to be a person that students can comfortably go to, knowing that their voices will be heard and cared for as my own.”
Nicholas Kanan ’23 won the Charles River Senator seat, also running unopposed.
Zachary Moskovits ’26 won the Massell Quad Senator seat, obtaining 46.73% of the vote against competitors Chloe Doonan ’26 and Summer Coronesi ’26. Moskovits noted in his candidate bio his history of student advocacy, and wrote that “when a fellow classmate needs a loud voice on their side, I am always ready for a fight.”
The seat for North Quad Senator was won by Eve Begelman ’26, with 48.15% of the vote against Liam Spilker ’26 and Parteek Kanmadikar ’26, despite the election form spelling her name incorrectly. Begelman wrote in her bio that she looks “forward to making the North Quad a friendly and comfortable environment for all.”
One of the two open A-board seats was filled by Cameron Sherman ’26, who ran unopposed for the position. Many students opted to write in candidates though, notable write-in options for the position included “my buddy eric,” “God, the one true allocation board member” and a common one: “kanye.”
Rachel Gao ’25 and Divam Gupta ’26 won the two seats for Racial Minority Senator, obtaining 42.41% and 41.14% of the vote respectively. Both students highlighted their experiences as students of color and past diversity equity and inclusion work in their candidate bios.
Eamonn Golden ’24 won the seat for Ziv/Ridgewood Senator, running unopposed. Golden “want[s] to hear what everyone has to say,” according to his candidate bio, in order to effectively represent the quad.
Jahkhi Waters ’26 won the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program (MKTYP) Senator seat. Waters wrote in his candidate bio that he’s “been specially gifted to have [his] voice heard in a world that would sooner ignore it,” and that he “would like to give back to Brandeis University” through this role.
The seat for Off-Campus Senator was won by Kelly Lei ’24. Lei hopes to help off-campus students through working on Bran Van awareness, commuter parking practices and fostering a community of off-campus students, according to her candidate bio.
Kai Kibilko ’25 won the Village/567 Senator seat, running unopposed. Kibilko wrote in his candidate bio that democratizing the decision-making process between administration and students is an important goal of his in this position.
Kelkar ended the email announcing the winners by noting that a special election will follow in the weeks to come “to fill remaining vacancies.” And that “those who ran in this election but were not elected are more than welcome to run in the upcoming special election!”
