In an email sent to Brandeis students on April 20, Student Union Secretary Carol Kornworcel ’26 sent students information on candidates and constitutional amendments for the upcoming Student Union elections. This email included a link to the election rules and the candidate bios, which also holds links to the constitutional amendments.
The campaigning period for these elections began on April 20, and will continue until election day on April 27. More than 20 positions in the Student Union will be filled during the second round of elections. Additionally, two amendments to the Student Union’s constitution will be voted on by the student body.
Constitutional Amendment – Secured Club Definition
This amendment would “clarify the definition of a secured club” through the addition of “requirements that clubs need to meet to be eligible to become a secured club, such as being established for 5 consecutive years.” This amendment doesn’t modify the “original definition of a secured club, but provides clear eligibility standards for clubs with the intention to become a secured club and additionally clarifies secured club privileges.”
The amendment would provide “more insights into the eligibility requirements for secured clubs and privileges that come with being secured” and “a clear outline for the requirements of becoming [a secured club].” This amendment would also make it so that “only eligible clubs would be able to apply to become secured.”
Constitutional Amendment – Alumni Association Representative Seat
This amendment would “revise the currently elected positions for the Brandeis Student Alumni Association (BSAA) Representative seats.” It would also “make the two seats appointed by the Brandeis Alumni Association and confirmed by the senate after the Fall election cycle,” as opposed to being voted on by Brandeis students.
Students who are appointed to this position would “be able to also hold an elected office position, such as senate, judiciary, treasury, or allocations board.” Given that the “past six … spring election cycles have had uncontested candidates for this position,” this amendment would remove “extra positions from the election cycles.” However, this amendment would also mean that the BSAA seat “will no longer be available on a typical ballot, not allowing all students to run for this.”
Senator at Large
There are two seats open for the Senator at Large position, and three students running for the seats.
David Cahn ’26 has “spearheaded accessible transportation reform” as Foster Mods Quad Senator. As Senator at Large, he hopes to “work on getting individual addresses for each building on campus to streamline delivery and rideshare services and advocate for extended dining hours and more BranVan stops” and being “a voice for students with disabilities.”
Madyson Buchanan ’26 “was student body president [her] senior year and was a part of a leadership council working towards improving [her] school systems.” In office, she hopes to “use [her] platform as senator to achieve the goals and values [she] believe[s] this school should uphold.”
Vivian Hamui ’26 “currently serve[s] as the VP of BOSS (Brandeis Organization of Sephardic Students), and Communications Coordinator for the Sharsheret Club,” and also serves as the Community senator for the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program. She hopes to “create a more comprehensive, publicly available roster of contact information about union members and committees for students to contact with both specific and more general problems” if elected.
Class of 2024 Senator
There are two seats available for the Class of 2024 Senator position and two students running.
Sahil Muthuswami ’24 served as “East Quad Senator and more recently as a Class [of 2024] Senator,” where he has “been part of various projects aimed at improving campus life, including initiatives related to student safety and social events.” In office, he hopes to “listen to your ideas, complaints, and thoughts in order to make Brandeis a place we can all be proud of.”
Eamonn Golden ’24 served as Executive Senator, where he “had the opportunity to work alongside peers in every other branch” of the Student Union. In office, he hopes to ensure “access to free menstrual products,” include those products in living spaces without common bathrooms and “work alongside the judiciary as we amend and improve the existing constitution.”
Class of 2025 Senator
There are two seats available for this position, and Kai Kibilko ’25 is running unopposed. In office, he has “many more aspirations for committee work in the coming year, such as an initiative to get individual addresses for each building on campus to streamline the delivery experience on campus.”
Class of 2026 Senator
There are two seats open for this position and four students running for the seat.
Chloe Doonan ’26 has served as “Senator at Large on the Student Union,” allowing her to “learn the ins and outs of student government.” In office, she hopes to “represent [her] class, and get pressing issues addressed.”
Koby Gottlieb ’26 has served as a “member of Senate for the past year, the Chair of the Social Justice Committee on Senate, and the Vice President of Philanthropy for the Brandeis Student Alumni Association.” In office, he hopes to “implement more mental health services,” “work on more direct communication with a simpler network for us to use the Branvan” and “make campus and Waltham feel safer for you by putting a networking system in place for Brandeis students.”
Tyler Johnson ’26 has served as Class of 2026 Senator and “delivered on [his] campaign promise to make Student Union more transparent.” In office, he hopes to “work closely as a Union representative with the Dean of Students Office to improve life on campus.”
Vivienne Scott ’26 has served as the Massell Quad Senator and has “developed both [her] knowledge and leadership skills.” In office, she “want[s] to make sure that Brandeis will always be a leader in keeping our communities safe, and being proactive against negative effects on our students due to climate change.”
Racial Minority Senator
There are two seats open for the Racial Minority Senator position and three candidates.
Allie Lanham ’26 has “observed and experienced Brandeis life as a minority student, and … believe[s that she] can successfully represent not only Hispanic and Latinx students, but also advocate inclusivity and diversity for all minority students.” In office, she hopes to “communicate with racial minority students to work towards creating a safe, healthy, open, and inclusive environment.”
Jeffery Kuang ’25 currently serves as the Charles River Senator, and hopes to “effectively listen to the needs and critiques of [his] peers to create the change we deserve here on campus” as the Racial Minority senator.
Rachel Gao ’25 is the current Racial Minority Senator and has “worked to gather feedback from racial minority students, working with the ICC to reach out to members of cultural clubs to start working on improving the experience of Racial Minority students.” She hopes “to continue [her] role as the Racial Minority Senator on Student Union to work with and support the racial minority student population on campus next year.”
International Student Senator
There is one seat open for the International Student Senator position, and Debbie Engelberg ’24 is running unopposed. In office, she hopes to institute “more inclusive dining options,” an “improved and refurbished weight room at Gosman,” an “International student phone plan” and more.
Associate Justice
There are five open seats for the Associate Justice position and there are five candidates. The candidates are sophomore Ada Wagar ’25, freshman Alyssa Golden ’26, sophomore Chana Thomas ’25, freshman Jenna Lewis ’26 and sophomore Zachary Miller ’25.
Wagar is the president of the Club Cycling and Triathalon Team. Here she has gotten experience working with the Student Union Consitutition and the club’s specific constitution. According to her bio, “As an Associate Justice, [she] would work to ensure the interpretation of the Student Union Constitution falls in line with Brandeisian values and community standards.”
Golden has been serving as an Associate Justice since September of last year. Since joining Student Union, she has been a part of judicial proceedings and interpreted petitions and bylaw amendments. “As a member of the Dining Committee, [she has] voiced student concerns such as the need for flexible dining hours/the removal of meal swipe periods & the lack of available seating,” writes Golden in her bio. She hopes to continue to support inter-branch communication throughout the Student Union.
Thomas has been the senator for both Skyline and Rosenthal. As an Associate Justice, Thomas plans on upholding the transparency involved in what the judiciary is working on. “One way [she’ll] do this is through Constitutional Review, where [she’ll] make sure we take a living approach to our Constitution and make sure the student body is regularly updated,” writes Thomas in her bio.
Lewis in high school was part of her school’s disciplinary committee and this year has worked in the Student Union as the Clerk of the Court. As clerk, Lewis has participated and followed deliberation among justices. “[She] hope[s] to bring the knowledge [she has] accrued this year along with [her] determination to represent both our constitution and the people of this campus with the utmost fairness,” according to Lewis’ bio.
Miller has “served as an Associate Justice where [he] was tasked with collaborating with [his] fellow justices to render opinions on a plethora of issues related to the affairs of the Student Union.” He has also “become well-acquainted with the various branches and operations of the Union.” He looks forward to “continuing to serve the Brandeis community.”
Head Treasurer
Sophomore Esther Eisenstat ’25 is the lone candidate running for the one open seat for Head Treasurer. No bio was submitted.
3-Semester Allocations Board (ABoard)
Freshman Aaron Klein ’26 and sophomore Destiney Williamson ’25 are running for the two available seats for the 3-Semester ABoard position.
Klein served on ABoard this past year and helped deliver over two million dollars to over 190 clubs on campus. He plans to make ABoard more transparent and work with administration to make mandatory costs for maintenance and room reservations lower. “[His] mission as an A-Board rep is to help you understand what can and cannot be funded, and then help you submit requests that have the best chance at being approved,” Klein writes in his bio.
Williamson has worked with a law firm in Boston over the last two years and has gained experience with invoices and jurisdictional funding tracking. According to Williamson’s bio, “As an allocations board member, [she] would work hard in standing up for minority clubs and communities, investing in areas students actually care about like Springfest and BemCo, and work on various committees to advocate for student livelihoods!”
2-Semester ABoard
There are three available seats for the position with three candidates running. The three candidates are sophomore James Brosgol ’25, freshman Marley Wilson ’26 and freshman Maxwell Weiner ’26.
Brosgol has previously worked as North Quad Senator, Class of 2025 Senator and as a club treasurer. “ Treasury work requires adaptiveness, attention to detail, and proactivity- [he] will dutifully apply these skills to [his] work for A-Board, which requires much of the same,” according to Brosgol’s bio. Since money levels are returning to what they were before COVID-19, Brosgol hopes to distribute all the remaining funds in the most equitable way possible.
Wilson understands the great benefits that student organizations provide and how they need to be funded sufficiently. “As a member of the allocation board, [they] will monitor funding to Brandeis student organizations and ensure that Brandeis student organizations receive proper funding in order to flourish,” according to Wilson’s bio. Wilson’s goal is to make sure that student organizations get the right amount of resources that allow them to grow.
Weiner in high school spent time in student government and was captain of the debate team. Since coming to Brandeis, Weiner has joined the climbing and debate teams and has seen how important funding is for a club to function. “Student run activities are what create the culture and exchange of ideas that are the very reasons why we go to Brandeis,” writes Weiner in his bio.
Junior Representative to Board of Trustees (BOT)
Freshman Tyler Hupart ’26 is running unopposed for the one open seat for Junior Representative to BOT.
Hupart as senator has worked across multiple committees, amended bylaws and volunteered during Student Union Events. “As Junior Rep, [he’d] work to regain the respect of the Board, and reestablish and maximize the voice of the student body among the administrators who govern our school,” according to his bio. He plans on bringing the level-headedness and reason that he had when voicing views of the community as senator.
Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF) Representative
Sophomore Sherry Tao ’25 is running unopposed for the one open seat.
Tao has been in the Student Union for two years through being in the Senate. She has also been on BSF for a year and served on the Year of Climate Action Planning Committee. According to her bio, “[she hopes] to bring more sustainable changes to Brandeis, such as introducing shampoo and conditioner bottle refills and creating discounts for all drinks at Dunkin, Starbucks and Einstein’s when reusable bottles are used.” She plans on bringing transparency to all BSF projects to the Senate and student body.
Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund (CEEF) Representative
There are two seats open for the CEEF Representative position and there are two students running. Freshmen Sophie Kaye ’26 and Stephen Gaughan ’26 are the two candidates.
Throughout her time at Brandeis, Kaye has been passionate about helping other students and giving back to the community. According to her bio, “[She] believe[s] that CEEF aligns perfectly with [her] values and goals, as it provides emergency funding for students and supports initiatives that enhance our community.” She plans on bringing a unique perspective to the position and to help make sure that CEEF can have a long-term campus-wide impact.
In high school, Gaughan was president of the Political Activitist Club, Model United Nations Club and Latin Honor Society, writes his bio. If elected, he hopes to make sure there is fairness and efficiency throughout how CEEF operates. “Specifically, [he] encourage[s] fellow administrators of the fund to look into financing many of the campaign proposals made this year, like ice machines, low-floor window-tinting to ensure privacy, and if possible, leisure Wi-Fi for gaming and other community, rather than academic purposes,” writes his bio.
