In what organizers call an effort to provide all campus organizations with an equal voice in the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, a campus-wide referendum will be placed on this April's ballot for an amendment that would create a Culture Lobby. The Lobby would allow for all campus organizations to influence Senate affairs relevant to their group in a more representative body, but would eliminate the current system of culture representative voting.
Denying the present culture reps of their Senate vote, however, is not the intended purpose of the amendment, according to its sponsors. Rather, organizers and senators Josh Belkin and Jill Bierne say, the amendment attempts to create a more accountable and inclusive forum for interacting with the Senate. Culture groups will have more access to student government, but will be limited to advising and lobbying.
The proposed new system would provide groups like Hillel, the Tufts Association of South Asians, and the Tufts Feminist Alliance, among many others, to share an equal voice with the established culture representatives in the lobby pool.
Even though the new Culture Lobby would be determined based on a group's participation, the proposed amendment would "grandfather in" the five current culture representatives. Any group, including non-culture groups, can potentially be inducted into the lobby pool, and thereby participate in debates, by a two-thirds vote of confidence from the Senate.
If the Senate decides to remove a representative from the lobby pool, a two-thirds vote is also required, though the spot will remain open to the group. Organizers hope the system will make representatives more accountable to their groups and provide the ability for members to be interchangeable at the same time.
Senator Ben Lee said he favors the amendment because it would "allow more groups on campus the opportunity to have a representative in the Senate, rather than just the four that have been there."
In addition to allowing all interested campus organizations and culture groups a voice in the Senate, the Lobby is intended to increase accountability among participating members. Some senators have voiced complaints that voting culture reps have an unwarranted amount of influence in Senate affairs that do not directly affect their respective groups. That and criticisms of an undemocratic process prompted a degree of unrest and have led to the current proposal, which would supplant the system with one that some see as more fair.
But not everyone, however. Some senators say there is little usefulness in divesting all culture representatives of their voting influence.
"I don't think this plan solves anything, because I feel that culture reps should have some voting rights," Senator Randy Newsom said.
Hillel President Brooke Menschel expressed her approval of the new system, saying it is "the fairest and most democratic way to allow all organizations to have their voices heard, particularly on issues relevant to them."
