The second round of the Student Union Spring elections took place on April 21. The Student Union filled eight senator positions and five representative positions.
Joseph Coles ’22 won the Class of 2022 Senator position. Coles has two years of Senate experience and is excited about this role, says Coles. In an email to The Brandeis Hoot, Coles wrote, “I want to serve as a resource to new senators.”
He also expressed enthusiasm for working with other members of the Senate. Coles says, “I’m also looking forward to working closely with Krupa [the Student Union President] on issues related to student life, dining and reforms of the Allocations Board.
Two seats were open for the Class of 2023 Senator position. Running for the position were Yitong (Skye) Liu ’23, Griffin Stotland ’23, Emily Adelson ’23 and Vivian Mou ’23. Liu and Mou won the seats with 26.96 percent and 30.69 percent of the vote, respectively.
In an interview with The Hoot, Mou shared her past experience with the Student Union and how it has taught her how to help students and contribute to the community. In her position, Mou wrote, “I want to offer all students in class 2023 the best college experience.”
The Hoot Reached out to Liu for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Two seats were open for the Class of 2024 Senator Position. Running for the position were Emanuel Cohen ’24, Asher Brenner ’24, Sofia Lee ’24, Audrey Sequeira ’24 and Ben Topol ’24. Lee and Sequeria won with 28.90 percent and 25.83 percent of the vote, respectively.
The Hoot Reached out to Sequeira and Lee for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Ashna Kelkar ’24 won one of the Senator-at-Large seats. When asked about what we should know about her platform, Kelkar wrote to The Hoot, “I want people to know that I will always be a resource to them and advocate for them however I can!” Kelkar feels prepared for this position given her past year in the Senate, says Kelkar.
Charlotte Li ’24 won one of the Senator-at-Large seats in the Senate. Li has two semesters of experience in this role and explains, “I ran for re-election because I love meeting new people of different backgrounds!”
Li also expresses her hopes to collaborate with others in the Senate to make positive change at Brandeis next year.
Maxwell Lerner ’23 was elected as the Representative for the Sustainability Fund. In an email to The Hoot, Lerner expressed his commitment to Brandeis students. “I do … want to push the board to further represent and support the students.”
When asked about what he hopes to accomplish in this position, Lerner explains, “I want to dedicate my time on the board to making the campus as green and student-driven as possible.”
Two seats were open for the Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund (CEEF) Representative position. Those in the running for the position were Jiale Hao ’22, Anthony Cai ’22, Carina Luo ’24 and Zhiyu Wang ’23. Luo and Wang both won with 30.33 percent and 20.08 percent of the vote, respectively.
Luo shared in an interview with The Hoot that as an orientation leader she noticed aspects of Brandeis campus life that could be improved through CEEF actions. Luo noted that past CEEF projects such as the Branda app and condom dispensers were great past examples of what CEEF has done and how much more it can do. Luo encourages all students to voice their opinions on what projects CEEF can accomplish because “I said this while campaigning, and I will say it again: Brandeis students know what Brandeis needs best.”
Wang shared with The Hoot that as a person who greatly enjoys learning about projects and ideas on campus he wants to be assisting those projects by giving them the funding they need to complete their task. Knowing that the fall semester comes with great promise and change back to normal, Wang explained, “I envision the fall semester to be a perfect time to bring constructive changes to our campus, as many students return and in-person activities revive.”
Daniel Hariyanto ’23 was elected as the Junior Alumni Board Representative. As a worker for the Hiatt Career Center and someone who values connections, Hariyanto explained that he is well equipped to gauge students’ professional needs and communicate that to involved alumni. “The challenge, though, is to communicate the needs of the students, whether it be professional opportunities or mentorship or exposure, to our alumni; I hope to be that bridge.”
Hariyanto will work to be an approachable representative so he may help all Brandeis students, and he stated one way that he wants to forge that connection is through his instagram @danielhariyanto_ where students can direct message him with ideas.
Yael Trager ’24 was elected as the International Senator. Since she was 11, Trager has lived outside the United States in Amsterdam and London, which, as she explained to The Hoot, offers her the advantage of understanding how to bring international students’ voices to the mainstream. Her ideas include holding a sophomore orientation for all those who have not been on campus during this academic year and creating a database of multilingual therapists in the area. “I ran for this position because I have a strong desire to represent and amplify the voices of students who are not always heard in the Brandeis community.”
