With the help of the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) and the TCU Senate, the Tufts Elections Board (ELBO) filled four of its five open seats.
The new members to the board are freshmen Simone Press and Justin Oldfield, sophomore Denise Wiseman, and junior Kenny Weinberger. Together, these four comprise the entire board.
ELBO members are usually chosen after interviewing with a five member committee including TCU senators and TCUJ members. The interviews were slated to take place this past Tuesday night.
Because only four students showed interest in the position and ELBO bylaws allowed up to five appointments, Vice-Chair of the TCUJ, sophomore Jake Resnicow, decided to forego interviews and appoint all applicants.
"Because they ran uncontested, we all haven't met them," Resnicow said. The applicants did, however, submit candidate statements to the selection
committee.
In appointing ELBO members, the committee looks for "people that are, most importantly, unbiased," Resnicow said. "It's important that they keep their personal opinions separate."
Three of the four new board member appointees ran for one open ELBO seat late last semester. The fourth, Wiseman, was the ELBO vice president during the 2003-2004 academic year before taking last semester off.
Prior to Thanksgiving break last semester, Weinberger was appointed to the vacant ELBO seat after Wiseman left. His term lasted about one month.
Along with the other three members, his term following this appointment will last for one year.
Resnicow was pleased with the new appointments, even though one seat remains open. "In the past years, it's always been difficult to find strong numbers," he said.
ELBO appointments take place under the TCUJ's coordination. "It's not as pressured a process as judiciary or senate elections," Resnicow said.
Sophomore Nicholas Haslett and junior Abby Lillianfeld resigned from ELBO, but have offered to serve as advisors to the inexperienced board members if they have questions, Lillianfeld said.
As a junior, Lillianfeld had the opportunity for one more year on ELBO, but she decided instead to put all her focus on academics. "[ELBO] is always [a lot of] work, but I have complete confidence in [the new appointees]," she said.
The new ELBO members will meet with their advisor, Director of Student Activities Jodie Nealley, next week for introductions.
Further down the road, the TCUJ will help in running ELBO's in-house elections. According to Resnicow, ELBO will work to "get prepared for the upcoming [TCU] presidential elections."
