The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's executive board was elected smoothly following a short controversy concerning the election of Senate culture representatives before students went home for the summer. With the new body now in place, many wonder how the Senate under TCU President Melissa Carson will compare to previous administrations.
Elections first took place on April 28, but the Elections Board (ELBO) later nullified the results. The board was concerned that the culture reps had been elected by their respective culture groups without ELBO observation. Since culture reps take part in in-house senate elections, the entire election had to thrown out.
The culture groups eventually restaged their elections with ELBO present, legitimizing future in-house elections. Senate elections were re-held to form President Carson's exec board.
Junior Andrew Potts was elected vice president, junior Ben Lee was re-elected treasurer, and former presidential candidate and junior Alison Clarke was elected historian. Freshman Rachel Marx was elected Assistant Treasurer and freshman Adam Koeppel was elected Parliamentarian.
The absence of rising juniors on next year's executive board is causing some to wonder where leadership will come for the 2003-2004 academic year. Traditionally, presidential candidates emerge from the Senate's executive board.
Others, however, see the senior-heavy executive board as a way to increase efficiency for next year's Senate.
"It's kind of nice having a mostly senior executive board because they don't have long term agendas or political aspirations," Koeppel said. This might allow the executive board to make more controversial decisions, since the seniors do not have to worry about re-election, he said.
The Senate's official role is to manage the Student Activities fee and distribute it to various campus groups. Additionally, the Senate serves as a lobbying group to the administration and organizes services like the Turkey Shuttle.
. The Senate also addressed some difficult and divisive issues throughout the year and took some principled stands, University President Larry Bacow said. "I believe the Senate provided very constructive input into the work of the Task Force on the Undergraduate Experience," he said
Each year, however, the Senate seems to redefine itself in terms of its leaders and membership. The most extreme example is the contrasting styles of TCU Presidents Larry Harris (LA'00) and Dave Moon (LA'01).
Harris' Senate was marked by controversy and clashing personalities. His administration made headlines and stirred up campus opinion. While some felt Harris lost control of the Senate, others appreciated the increased campus awareness of student government that resulted.
In contrast, Moon kept a tight grip on his Senate, encouraging issues to be solved internally and subduing controversy in the public eye. Some were grateful for a less hectic year, while others feel that, since Moon's administration, students have been less aware of the Senate's presence.
Eric Greenberg's government this year continued Moon's low profile, to some senator's dismay. Greenberg's campaign emphasized the need for increasing student outreach but few noticeable changes were made during his tenure. Although the Senate passed bylaws requiring Senators to table in dining halls and visit dorms, little came of it in the end.
Many feel that Senate presidents are instrumental in characterizing the nature of the Senate. "The role of the Senate in a given year begins with the president and the executive board," Potts said. "Not that they're in control, but because they set the tone. They are the leadership of the body."
Harris voiced a similar opinion. "I feel like the Senate is the group of people on campus who are ultimately responsible for advocating for student interests," he said. "The president has a responsibility to assess student needs on campus and voice those to administrators." The Senate should be open to criticism and publicly available to the student body, he said.
Moon, however, cautions against a Senate that has too much publicity and leaves itself open to widespread criticism. The administration notices if the student government is weak, he said, and it makes them less worried about having their actions scrutinized.
"So when student groups are making a mess of the Senate, and the media is trying to slam them, this might impact our ability to advocate to the administration for other long-shot student policies," he continued.
The Senate has control of its own image, according to Moon, based on its relationship with the media and student groups. But he added that some overly ambitious Senators inevitably try to move up in the body and undercut the balance. He calls this practice "detrimental to the entire cause" of the Senate.
"I believe that if you need to get criticism, you should," Harris said. "It's fine to be in the newspapers. Then students will know about the Senate - otherwise, it's just useless."
In reference to Moon and Greenberg, Harris said that their low-profile administrations "didn't live up to the responsibility and make it available to students."
There seems to be optimism pervading through the Senate. "What we have [for next year] is a lot of people who are in the right positions and the right places," Potts said. Having the right people for the positions coupled with Carson's record of getting projects accomplished, leads him to believe that the body will "make student government run well next year."
