As a three-year senator and past presidential candidate, I know what it takes to have an efficient, effective Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate. The Senate this year has not been a cohesive or effective body. Unfortunately, I have seen the struggles of individual senators, including myself, deciding whether to resign or to stay. The issue of whether to resign (or how to get your name in the newspaper) should not be the first thing on a senator's mind; instead, they should be fighting for what the students want and need.
Above all else, the Senate should be a lobbying and advocacy body that actively fights for student causes. Senators should spend most of their time figuring out what students want and then demanding it from the appropriate administrators. An example of the failure of this to take place was this year, when the Senate allowed the administration to change the block schedule without any real student input. The final result is that we have a schedule that does not adequately reflect the needs of the student body.
We need a Senate president who will work on these issues while they are still being debated, not after they've been enacted. What we have seen the Senate doing this year is far from that.
It is time to end the elitist Senate mentality and begin really working with the student body to form a united voice. I firmly believe that one presidential candidate, Alison Clarke, can bring about changes that are so necessary for the TCU Senate. She has no desire to be friends with the administration; I believe that she understands that as president, her role is to fight for what the students want. She will also challenge Senators to really connect and work with the students.
This year we have seen countless quarrels between student groups, which take the focus away from larger, university-wide administrative problems. It's time for a different perspective.
I love Tufts, and I think that many students feel the same way. It is for this reason that I support Alison Clarke's run for the presidency. It is time that we have effective student representation on the Senate, not just r?©sum?©-padders who stop working once they have been elected to the body.
Student participation in our student government needs to be increased, and Senate should be brought back to the students. Past presidents have made the same promise, but few have delivered. As president, Alison can bring Senate and the students together. She as already started working on this through the implementation of Campus Dialogues. I believe these are a good first step towards reaching out to the student body.
After looking at both candidates' platforms, I believe that Alison's goals are realistic, beneficial, and can actually be accomplished. She is not making empty campaign promises, and she has started working on many of these issues already.
<I>1) Housing - Just recently, hundreds of juniors-to-be were denied on-campus housing. Alison will demand an earlier release of lottery numbers, so that students can plan their housing ahead of time and no one will have to scramble around for over-priced off-campus apartments in the middle of April. In addition, she will lobby for more beds in the new dorm that is being built. Originally the plan was for 300 beds, but recently the number has dropped to 140, and this is unacceptable. Tufts' first concern should be that all of its students have a comfortable, affordable place to live.
<I>2) Curricular Diversification -In order for Tufts to remain competitive with other universities, we need a more diverse curriculum and faculty. Tufts as a university should set this as a priority, and Alison will fight to see this happen. Throughout this year she has been working with a group of faculty and students on developing a Latino Studies program, as well as fighting alongside other students to get a professor that the students want in the open position in the Spanish department.
<I>3) World Civ Requirement - Expanding the number of classes that would fulfill the World Civilizations requirement would alleviate many problems that students encounter when trying to find classes that meet the requirement. Additionally, there is a student-faculty committee that has been debating the issue of World Civ and what direction it should move toward, and Alison will push them to make a decision and to publish their recommendations. If the committee cannot decide in a timely manner, Alison will push for existing courses to be counted towards the World Civ. Requirement, to make all of our lives easier and our academic load more enjoyable.
<I>4) Free Transcripts - Transcripts are our records of the classes that we pay good money to take at Tufts, and students should not be charged for this service. I personally had to pay about $40 this year to get my transcripts for graduate school. When applying to graduate school or to jobs, we should not be charging the future alumni of this University for a service necessary to their future success. Alison wants to challenge the administration to offer each student a certain number of free transcripts each year.
Obviously there are many issues that students would like to see worked on next year. These range from the poor shuttle service, to a better response to hate crimes, to improved dining options. It is important to realize though, that these issues cannot effectively be worked on in the current circumstances.
The Senate needs strong leadership, and the students need to stop bickering amongst themselves and create a united front in lobbying the administration. Next year's Senate could finally be your Senate, the Senate of the students. I urge you to vote wisely on Wednesday. Vote for Alison Clarke as your next TCU President.
Michele Shelton is a senior majoring in psychology.
