In contrast to this semester's uncontested Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate and Judiciary elections, students have expressed renewed interest in the Committee on Student Life (CSL). Eleven students have announced their candidacy for Tufts' highest ranking student-faculty body.
While some candidates say their interest spawned from recent high-profile CSL decisions on sexual harassment and the Elections Board (ELBO) cases this year, others say they simply hope to affect school policy. Elections will be held online tomorrow.
ELBO chair Joe Coletti said that the pool of candidates has actually been reduced since students first entered the race. Originally, 15 students were running for the committee, but four resigned from the race for personal reasons.
The increase marks a significant change of pace for the CSL, which just last year had an uncontested election for the five student spots on the committee. Coletti said the race will be more volatile than in previous years, beginning with the debate held last night.
"I would say that this race will become heated because its such a major focus and [the CSL has] been in the spotlight on campus this year," Coletti said. "A lot of student organizations on campus have interest in who gets on the CSL."
The candidates are juniors Valentino Caruso, Sam Dangremond , Daniel Kramer, and Megan Liotta, sophomores Jodi Gilman, Simon Holroyd , Suman Rao, and Stacy Ulrich and freshmen Eliza Drachman-Jones, Leah Knobler, and Will Wittels.
Coletti said ELBO has had little trouble adjusting to the increased interest because it is the only contested election, with the exception of the TCU presidential election later this month. For this reason, ELBO has been able to focus on the CSL, which Coletti hopes will be the first successful online election at Tufts.
Most of the candidates said they were attracted to the CSL because of its increased presence on campus this year and hope to inject the committee with new blood.
"[The turnout is] due in large part because of the fallout from the whole SLAM and Primary Source conflict. That kind of shed a lot of light, as did the TFA case on the important and final role that the CSL plays," Caruso said.
Though those cases have fueled debate in recent months, some said they feel the CSL is at the early stages of other important decisions that will be made next year. "There were a lot of plagiarism cases and hate crimes this year," Drachman-Jones said. "It's a big possibility that these will be brought to the CSL the following year, and these are big issues."
But Liotta - one of three candidates who have served on the body before - said that while the political cases the committee has dealt with this year have increased interest, students who are trying their first attempt at student government may be surprised by the less political duties of the CSL. "People don't really realize that the CSL isn't a political group on campus," Liotta said. Three Primary Source members were on the CSL this year, a fact which Liotta said misleads students into thinking the organization is "politically tilted."
If the election results in any ties - a considerable possibility given the large number of candidates - ELBO will hold a runoff election immediately following the general election.
