The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate will disregard official rulings and end its appeal process concerning last year's constitutional referendum, the boldest move in what has been a semester-long power struggle amongst the three branches of student government: the Senate, the Tufts Community Union Judiciary, and the Committee on Student Life (CSL).
Though the hearings in question will have no immediate impact on the actions of the bickering groups, the hearings will set an important precedent on deciding who wields the most power in the TCU government. The most tangible consequence of this debacle would be a possible re-vote on the referendum that merely allowed the Senate presidenty to enlist members of the Tufts community to act as a cabinet.
The matter came to a head when the Senate executive board became fed up with the bureaucratic process and abruptly decided to ignore months of negotiations and hearings - in which the Senate was an active and willing participant - and make a final judgement on the matter.
"[Senate executive board members] Larry Harris and Jesse Levey have stepped outside of the bounds of responsible government. There should be sanctions or some other form of discipline to keep them from doing so again in the future," said Craig Waldman, co-chair of the Judiciary.
At last night's Senate meeting, Harris cited inconsistencies in the Judiciary's and CSL's decision-making process as reasons for the unexpected rejection of the procedures.
"It is a flawed process and it is made up as it goes along," Harris said. "Let the [Judiciary] come in with an army if they need to; we have made our decision."
The Judiciary will appeal the Senate's defiance of procedure to the CSL this morning, and Waldman and CSL co-chair Jason Potts said they will each speak to Vice President of Arts, Sciences, and Technology Mel Bernstein today, bringing the student conflict to the administration.
"At this point we are not continuing the [appeal] process. We are not recognizing the [Judiciary's] ability to make the decision in the first place. There is no constitutional right to make this decision," Harris said.
Waldman said the Senate's declaration is a total denial of official Judiciary and CSL decisions.
"The [Judiciary] is filing an appeal to the CSL against the Senate. I am asking that there be an injunction issued and that the Senate not be able to do what it has done until there is a CSL hearing or possibly a vice presidential hearing," Waldman said.
Waldman raised the issue because of his belief that the executive board was forcing the decision down the Senate's throat, and wanted to know the general Senate's views on the matter. Harris would hear nothing of Waldman's urgings, stating the decision to defy the process was an executive board matter. Waldman said that though he was interested in Senate sentiment, he would only name executive board members in his official appeal to the CSL.
The conflict escalated when the Senate appealed the Judiciary's decision for a re-vote on the cabinet referendum nearly two months ago. Four out of five points of the Senate's argument were ruled invalid by the CSL. The CSL subsequently ordered the Judiciary to re-open its hearings and discuss the matter further with the Senate.
Despite this, the Senate is carrying on as if the rulings and hearings of the Judiciary and CSL mean nothing. The Senate's disregard is further evidence of the firm stand it has been taking against the Judiciary since last year.
According to the Senate, events have progressed to such as point that the executive board feels it is justified in ending the conflict by ignoring the Judiciary and CSL's rulings. They said the Judiciary and the CSL were not in their right to make the decisions they did.
But Waldman disagrees. "This is the greatest example of student government not working together. You cannot ignore things that have been done in the past," Waldman said, stating the Senate should have appealed to Bernstein rather than dropping the matter completely.
In theory, the CSL has the power to overrule Judiciary decisions. Potts said the CSL will take immediate action when the Judiciary files a complaint against the Senate's new declaration. Potts added, however, that he wasn't sure whether the CSL would have taken action without a Judiciary appeal.
The Judiciary will meet tonight at 8 p.m. in the campus center to discuss the issue further. Waldman has publicly invited Bernstein, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, and the entire Senate to attend. Waldman could not definitively say whether Senate members would be allowed to speak.
Jeremy Wang-Iverson contributed to this article.
