Following a lengthy debate on Monday night, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate passed a students' rights resolution submitted by the Tufts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The measure - which passed with a vote of 13 to nine with two abstentions - requests that the University notify any students whose educational records, "have been obtained by law enforcement agents."
According to ACLU club member and sophomore Dan Grant, "we submitted this resolution to the TCU Senate because the violation of students' civil liberties and civil rights is a very real problem that faces Tufts students."
In addition to asking that Tufts notify students of the seizure of academic records, the resolution also requests that the University "refrain from assisting city, county, state and federal authorities in the surveillance of individuals" who are engaged in political advocacy or religious practices.
It was this section of the resolution which created the most controversy. Freshman senator Diler Erdengiz said he was concerned that the resolution would interfere with Tufts' duty to comply with state and national laws, but a majority of senators agreed that the stipulation asks only that the University refrain from going above and beyond what is required by law.
"The resolution simply asks that Tufts maintain [a] level of privacy to the extent that is legally possible," said junior senator Rafi Goldberg, "Students have the expectation that their records will only be viewed by University employees."
"This resolution is not telling Tufts to obstruct justice in any way," Grant said, but is asking the school "not to infringe on rights guaranteed Tufts' students by Tufts policy."
The resolution first came before the TCU Senate on March 13, but was tabled after its excessive political content required several changes to the draft.
"In its original form, I refused to hear it in the Senate because it was outside of our scope," said TCU Senate president Dave Baumwoll. "On the one hand, [the issue] dealt directly with student concerns and on the other it alluded to an issue of national relevance."
The TCU Senate does not normally make decisions on federal or state policy.
After two meetings between senators and ACLU club members, the revised resolution does not contain any reference to the Patriot Act, the First Amendment, or to any members of the government.
The resolution had originally requested the TCU Senate president to submit a copy to Massachusetts State Governor Mitt Romney and to "members of the State House of which districts Tufts is in."
"We are not national senators, we are student senators; we are here to deliberate on issues that affect Tufts University," said freshman senator freshman senator Jonathan Adler during the debate on Monday night.
Baumwoll justified his support for the resolution. "In the end I decided to err on the side of students' rights," he said.
Goldberg said he agreed with this description of the resolution, adding that the legislation "was completely about the University's policy towards the privacy of personal records."
The resolution also requests that Tufts' libraries notify students that their library records may be searched and seized by the Federal government. Additionally, it asks that Tufts not use the "race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin" of any student as grounds for investigation.
Tufts' ACLU chapter members stressed that this motion should not threaten the power of law enforcement to investigate someone with malicious intent to harm.
"The choice is not between rights and security; it is possible to have both," Grant said.
