Your palms were sweaty. As you made your way to the front door, you adjusted your tie or skirt for the 47th time in ten minutes. You took a deep breath as your mother advised, and you rang the doorbell, not knowing what to expect. The door opened and there, standing in front of you, was your last obstacle. Flashback to senior year of high school and one of the most intimidating parts of the college admission process ? the alumni interview.
Even more intimidating is that the person who grilled you about your extracurriculars and volunteer work may not have been just any old Jumbo - he or she might have been a University trustee. But would that have meant anything to you during that nerve-wracking hour? Does it mean anything to you now?
A trustee of a university is generally viewed as someone who has a lot of money and a burning desire to see his or her name on the front of the newest building on campus. But like most stereotypes, this diminishes the importance of the trustees. In essence, trustees are individuals who are willing to devote their time, energy, and yes, cash, to improve the university.
This Friday and Saturday, the 37 members of the Tufts Board of Trustees will convene in Medford to discuss pertinent issues affecting the University. This is the second of the board's tri-annual meetings, with the other two taking place in November and May. According to Linda Dixon, secretary to the board and liaison between the trustees and the Tufts community, approximately eight trustee committees meet on a more regular basis throughout the year.
"Three of [the eight committees] are the major committees that have the responsibility for major everyday matters," Dixon explained. These groups - Academic Affairs, Administration and Finance, and University Development - consist of members of the board, in addition to two student representatives, one undergraduate and one graduate student.
These student representatives are elected to speak on behalf of the entire student body at trustee meetings. The name Jesse Levey, for example, probably rings a bell if you're an upperclassman concerned with getting on-campus housing next year. Levey, a junior, is one of three undergraduate trustee representatives who has been working to get the board to approve a plan for a 300-bed dormitory. On Saturday, Levey will make a presentation in support of the interests of Tufts students on the issue of housing. The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate will also be in attendance.
"[The trustees] really take time to listen to students," Levey said. "They've always given me opportunities to share my opinions."
Levey said that the trustees care a great deal about the lives of Tufts students ? if they didn't, they wouldn't invest so much time and money into the University. "They really are out for our best interests. Sometimes it's just hard because they are only on campus a couple days a year," he said.
According to Dixon, the trustees volunteer their time to ensure that Tufts students enjoy their college experience. For generously giving their time and money, Dixon says that the trustees deserve recognition.
But in light of the influence trustees wield, some people on campus worry that students and trustees do not interact enough. "It sucks that only certain people have the ability to talk to these trustees," senior Rene Grignon said.
Part of the distance between trustees and students is due to a lack of interest on the part of the student body; but another factor is that trustees lead busy lives inside and outside of Tufts and simply do not have time to visit Tufts to mingle with its students.
"Well, obviously I would like for there to be more interaction between the trustees and the students," Levey said. But he admitted that it is not always feasible, given the trustee's schedules.
For junior Alethea Pieters, another undergraduate trustee representative, interaction between students and trustees should not even be an issue. "I'm not sure I understand the importance of getting to know the trustees better. That's not their role. Their role is to improve student life," she said. "That's why we have student representatives ? to bring the issues to them."
Furthermore, Pieters added, if the trustees had the time to get to know more students, they would.
So, how do representatives like Pieters and Levey decide what issues are important to the student body? Both agreed that talking to students from different venues ??be it classes, student organizations, or dorms ? is the most beneficial mode of uncovering the issues most pertinent to students.
"We don't get to bring every issue to the board," Pieters said. "We really only bring the major issues, and I think that we do a good job of finding out what the major issues are on campus."
And once the student representatives present these issues, how can the trustees judge what's best for the students? According to Dixon, the trustees stay very current on issues and attitudes on the Hill. She said that most trustees subscribe to and (more importantly) read the Daily and the Observer.
"I think that the trustees are more aware of student life than students think," Dixon said.
Many of the trustees are also on campus regularly, according to Dixon. "They're on campus, they go to the bookstore, they go to the library," she said. "They know the campus."
When the board meets at Tufts, its schedule leaves room for little down time ? which prevents student interaction. Dixon stressed that although time constraints usually render informal meetings impossible, trustees enjoy getting to know students.
"Most of the trustees went to school here and they really care about this place," she said. "They are intensely interested in this university."
Approximately 85 percent of the trustees are Tufts alumni and about half of them have children who graduated from Tufts.
"I think the students have very fair representation with the trustees," Dixon said.
Senior Bethany MacMillan said that holding a forum in which trustees can meet with student leaders of campus groups might prove enlightening for all involved. Just talking to trustee representatives or senators, MacMillan said, doesn't clue trustees into "the certain passions" that group leaders hold.
To Grignon, an online poll that trustees could access which would allow students to enter their ID numbers and answer questions about student life would serve the University well.
Levey said such a general, larger forum of the student body would be ideal, but is unrealistic in terms of time.
"The trustees are very busy and they really don't have any time while they're here to meet with students, even though they'd like to," Dixon said.
