Less than 12 people showed up last night at Hotung for the Spring Freshmen election debates, as three candidates squared off for one contested Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate seat.
Chike Aguh, Michael Handwerker, and Freshman Class Secretary Alexis Smith all presented their plans and answered questions from the small audience. The seat was left open due to the resignation of freshmen Vuong Nguyen.
Many commented on the shortcomings of the Senate and suggested methods of changing the body. "The students should be better informed on what the Senate does," Handwerker said. Aguh went so far as to suggest that a senator should listen to comments from students in the campus center or at a dining hall once a week.
"I just want to implement things that will close the gap between students, Senate and administration," Aguh said after the debate. Handwerker said that a suggestion box would allow the Senate to create a forum "where everyone's voice can be heard." He hopes that it could lead to a semi-referendum process, where the Senate can take suggestions and see how the campus reacts to them.
Despite agreement that the Senate should work harder to communicate with students, there was little discussion as to what could be done to improve student turnout at the debates.
"I think its expected being halfway through the semester," Smith said. "I just hope they come to the polls instead."
Current Senator Adam Koeppel said that the low turnout results in part from less Senate press coverage than previous years, and suggested that the Senate should work harder to advertise the debates in the Daily.
Aguh feels that more needs to be done than just improve communications with students, however. He is also interested in taking action against hate crimes on campus.
"I have a vision of Tufts where hate crimes are dealt with in a timely fashion," he said. Aguh added that the University instituted a policy in 1998 that vowed to respond to hate crimes in 48 hours, something he said is no longer happening.
"We as students should see justice done," he said.
Handwerker agreed that the Senate should deal with the recent controversies on campus. "We need to take an active role in mediating conflict," he said.
The other candidates were looking for broad improvements to student life on campus, including more office hours and easier access to Senator e-mail addresses. Handwerker said the Senate website still lists the Thanksgiving Turkey Shuttle as an ongoing project, using it as an example of how the Senate is not keeping students informed.
"We want to show as many projects as possible to the student body," TCU Senator Josh Belkin said in defense of the shuttle listing. "It might not be updated as frequently as some might like, but we're too busy doing the business of the people instead."
Smith said that her role as Freshman Class Secretary would help to make her an effective senator, adding that she has worked with groups to organize events such as the International Club's boat cruise.
"I have an idea of what's going on with a lot of other groups," she said.
The response from the few onlookers was warm for all three candidates. "They all seemed like promising candidates," freshman Jackie Zapata said of the debate. TCU Judiciary member Alison Clarke agreed, calling them "very informed."
