All 18 open seats in the Senate, Judiciary, Community Emergency Enhancement Fund (CEEF) and Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) were filled in the most recent Student Union election. A total of 684 students voted in the election.
Scott Halper ’20 and Dane Leoniak ’20 won the two open seats for the class of 2020 senator, beating out Jacob Diaz ’20 and Trevor Filseth ’20. Halper won the election overall with 80 votes, which was just over 30 percent. Leoniak beat Diaz by just one vote, 57 to 56, for the second seat.
Halper said “the climate of the Union is one in which I think a lot of students have felt that problems aren’t addressed in a civil manner, there is not a lot of constructive dialogue, and there are a lot of students that feel like a lot of the issues that are important to them aren’t getting heard,” in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot. Halper hopes that the Union next year will help to facilitate these dialogues and work towards making students’ “demands a reality.”
Leoniak said that his main goal as a newly elected senator is to “help people on campus who are ignored by campus have their voices heard by the Student Union and to be someone on the side of clubs.” He wants to work with Student Union members to solve campus issues and plans to join three Senate committees: the Club Support Committee, the Social Justice and Diversity Committee and the Sustainability Committee.
Shuorui Wang ’22 will serve as the new international student senator, beating out competitor Leah Fernandez ’22. Fernandez was only five votes away from Wang, who received 40 votes.
Wang hopes to work on all the platforms that he shared in his campaign, which include looking more into the Gateway Scholars Program and increasing involvement of international students on campus. “Almost 40 percent of the student population uses WeChat every day,” Wang said in an interview. “I hope I can make a news alert for these students, so you can see what happens around campus very easily to catch the information in the morning when they wake up.”
Maya Walborsky ’22, Rachel Sterling ’21, Ruth Itzkowitz ’22, Shania Thomas ’21 and Jack Ranucci ’22 are the five new associate justices of the Judiciary. These individuals beat out Junhan Lee ’20, Mack Schoenfeld ’21, Maxwell Hunsinger ’20 and Yehoshua Rubin ’20. Walborsky won the overall vote with 216 votes, followed by Sterling with 208, Itzkowitz with 204, Thomas with 198 and Ranucci with 178.
Itzkowitz wanted to thank all the individuals that supported her and went out to vote. She highlighted that this past year the Union had scandals that were not “handled properly.” “I feel the Judiciary board needs to act more according to the Constitution and Bylaws and make sure that above all else those are followed,” she wrote.
Ranucci was re-elected to the position and “cannot wait to spend the next year working to ensure the Student Union works as smoothly and efficiently as possible to better your interests,” he wrote in an email. One issue he saw this past year in the judiciary is the lack of communication within the Union and hopes to increase this communication through the means of the Judiciary. “My first priority is working with the president and Senate committee chairs to ensure that all Union members are fulfilling their duties as elected representatives,” he wrote.
Walborsky, Sterling and Thomas could not be reached by press time.
Jake Rong ’21 and Sissel Tan ’21 won the two seats for class of 2021 senator, both having run uncontested. Rong won the overall vote with 83 votes, just under 35 percent of total votes. Tan was close behind with 74 votes.
Rong is excited to be working with the new leadership team that the Union is bringing in for the 2019-2020 school year, with his new role and as executive senator. “I think the main thing that I would focus on in the next year is accountability as well as just I think that the main job as the executive senator as it has been this past year is taking the attendance and overseeing the agenda for senate as well as communication between the executive board and senate and vice versa,” he said.
Tan could not be reached prior to press time.
Topaz Fragoso ’22 and Joseph Coles ’22 are the new class of 2022 senators, both running uncontested. Fragoso was re-elected for the position, receiving 143 votes and just over 44 percent of the total vote. Coles received 124 votes overall.
Fragoso is hoping to build off of the work that she has accomplished during her first year in the Union. Something she is hoping to change is the communication within the Union and the student body. “We need to make sure we’re listening and making the best decisions for the school’s best interest,” said Fragoso. She is also hoping to add another non-Sodexo food provider to campus alongside the dining committee.
Coles could not be reached prior to press time.
Nancy Zhai ’22 and Joshua Hoffman ’21 won the two open seats for senator-at-large, running uncontested. Zhai won the overall vote with 374 votes, and Hoffman received 277 votes.
Zhai will continue her work in the senate dining committee next year as well as maintaining, if not increasing, her communication with all members of the student body. “I hope to keep reinforcing my public image to show respect to colleagues to be as receptive as possible,” she said in an interview. “I’m here for everyone at Brandeis and will myself to this standard.”
She is hoping to shift her focus on more administrative issues and increasing the dining resources during Orientation.
Hoffman could not be reached prior to press time.
Rajan Vohra ’21 ran unopposed for senator for racial minority students, receiving over 50 percent of the votes, with 134. He could not be reached prior to press time.
Mike Bender ’22 and Jiale Hao ’22 were voted as the representatives to CEEF, beating out Anthony Cai ’22. Bender won the re-election with 233 votes, while Hao garnered 185 votes.
Both could not be reached by press time.
Lyle James ’21 beat out Steven Luo ’21 for the representative to the UCC. James won almost 40 percent of the total votes with 241 votes, beating out Luo who received 158.
James could not be reached by press time.
Celia Young contributed to this report.
