Freshmen senators elected

Nine freshmen were added to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate yesterday and two students were elected to the TCU-J yesterday after voting concluded in an online election.

Twenty-four freshmen ran for senate seats, ten more than last year. Thirty-four percent of the class of 2007, or 480 students, cast ballots online. Although the entire undergraduate population was eligible to vote in the TCU-J election, only 18 percent of students voted. Seven students ran for the two open seats on the J.

The TCU-J election was held after only five people ran for seven open seats on the Judiciary in the spring.

Senior Michael Douglas, who served on the Judiciary for all of last year, originally planned not to run because he will graduate in December. Douglas decided to run after he heard about the vacancies and was convinced he would not be "depriving anyone" by serving.

Douglas was elected, and will only serve during the fall semester

To be eligible for the elections, candidates were required to attend a meeting held by the Elections Board (ELBO) on Monday night. At the meeting, ELBO members explained election rules and candidates were required to submit their petitions. Freshmen running for Senate were required to collect 100 signatures; students running for the TCU-J needed 50.

At a forum at Hotung Caf?© Tuesday night, senate candidates read statements on their campaigns and fielded questions from the audience. Attendance at the forum was light and consisted mostly of current senators.

Freshman Jessica Feinberg, who was elected to a senate seat, discussed her participation in her high school's student government and a desire to become involved at Tufts.

Another elected candidate, freshman Zach Landau, said he was encouraged to get involved by his successful first two weeks on campus. He added that he "loved the idea of students being given the opportunity to have a strong voice."

Landau promised in his campaign to solicit feedback from peers and printed his address and phone numbers on all his campaign posters.

The audience questioned candidates for the TCU-J to gauge their opinion on the new TCU constitution, which was passed in May, their reasons for running, and how they would uphold the laws of the judiciary.

Douglas highlighted the accomplishments of last year's Judiciary in his speech. "I think last year the J did a good job doing a number of things," he said. "There were situations that arose that were difficult to solve because of ambiguities but I think that the J did an excellent job of handling those situations."

According to results released by the Elections Board (ELBO) yesterday, the new Freshmen senators are Michael Abare, Andrew Caplan, Jessica Feinberg, Brody Hale, Zach Landau, Jamil Ludd, Harish Perkari, Simon Sassenberg and Nick Schrobock. The TCU-J seats went to senior Michael Douglas and junior Shaharris Beh.