For the second year in a row, spring Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate elections will not take place because too few candidates ran for the allotted seats. The TCU constitution calls for 28 senators, with seven representing each class.
Some high-ranking senators chose not to run for re-election, citing different personal reasons. Assistant Treasurer Nick Abraham reportedly wants to focus on his studies, while historian Suman Rao has decided to run for the Committee on Student Life (CSL) instead, for "a matter of personal reasons and time commitment."
"CSL is a better fit for me," Rao said. A number of other senators chose not to run for re-election so they could study abroad.
Senate elections follow a "vicious cycle," according to former senator Pritesh Gandhi. He said there is not enough student interest because the Senate keeps a low profile. "[The Senate] needs an active president who will cause controversy," Gandhi said, adding that the current Senate is "not willing to take risks."
TCU President Eric Greenberg does not think this situation differs from previous years. "[Uncontested elections] happen most of the time," TCU President Eric Greenberg said. "There's not an uproar to join Senate."
Freshman senator Adam Koeppel, however, called the lack of interest "a tragedy." "Elections are the most important part of the Senate."
