ELBO appointments to proceed this week

Appointments to the Elections Board (ELBO) of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) will take place this coming week instead of earlier this semester, due to several logistical reasons.

Departing ELBO Chair Abby Lillianfeld said that the elections in January disturbed the normal schedule. "We have to train a new ELBO, they can't run an election until they know what their doing."

Lillianfeld said the delay was because lack of organization among those responsible. "It took a long time for group that appoints ELBO to get together."

According to Lillianfeld, ELBO functions differently from other student groups, in that the members are appointed, not elected.

All five current members will step down as soon as new members are nominated. The current members' year-long terms ended in January. Though they are allowed to stand for nomination again, none chose to do so, ELBO Public Relations officer Vinda Rao said.

Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) Chair Abby Moffat is organizing the students interested in running. "We'll get together next Wednesday night and talk to the kids who want to be on ELBO," she said. "If there are more than five then we'll actually have to make a decision."

There are five seats on the board open to nomination, and though she did not disclose an actual number, Moffat said "some" students have contacted her.

Rao explained that if there is not enough interest, the vacant seats will remain open until someone wishes to fill them.

According to the TCU Constitution, "Two representatives from the CSL [Committee on Student Life], TCUJ, and the TCU Senate shall organize and administer the application process for appointing five officials to the Elections Board." It clarifies that, "if a vacancy should occur, the position shall be filled through a similar application process agreed upon by the TCU Senate, TCUJ and CSL."

Appointments typically take place "at the beginning of the second academic semester," according to the TCU Constitution. However, since no new members have been appointed, Rao said that current ELBO members decided it would be in the best interest of the community for them to stay on until new members are appointed in order to help them.

"Last year, [former ELBO Chair] Joe Coletti had just left to go abroad, but he had taken time to train Abby [Lillianfeld]," Rao said. "Because of this we were able to function more effectively. If it hadn't been for that, we would have been fish out of water."

According to Rao, current ELBO members decided individually not to run again.

"It was not necessarily a group decision, we were all questioning it at the end of last semester," she said. "When we all discussed doubts, we decided that the time was over."

Rao described ELBO's work as relatively thankless and said that most members decided to leave because of this.

"There were problems with students not understanding what we do, treating us badly, and blaming everything wrong on us. We were placed in a difficult position," she said.

ELBO Vice Chair Jennifer Salluzzo said she quit out of disgust for TCU politics. 'Tufts student government is a bit too intense. Also, ELBO doesn't really get any respect," she said. "It's not just because of past problems -- there is a definite hierarchy associated with TCU politics."

In the past there have been a number of problems with ELBO ranging from issues such as ballot stuffing to the group violating its own by-laws during elections. After TCU President Melissa Carson resigned last year, ELBO did not allow enough time before the second election.