The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate meeting on Sunday night marked the end of the current Senate's term.
In an address to the body, TCU Senate president and junior Dave Baumwoll congratulated the senators on what he called the "most successful year" in the TCU Senate's 30 year history.
In addition to budgeting over $1 million worth of student activity funding, the TCU Senate also oversaw the creation of a number of projects, ranging from the negotiation of lower cab fares for students traveling to Logan International Airport before Winter Break to the community-building Halloween on the Hill.
Baumwoll said that some of this year's highlights included the creation of a student life fund to provide money for non-alcoholic events, a TCU Senate resolution pushing for the construction of Phase III of the Mayer Campus Center, and the work of some senators to create a three-tiered housing lottery system.
Baumwoll said he was happy to report that at the end of the current term, senators said they believed that their actions were "in the best interest of the student body."
For freshman TCU Senator Jonathan Adler, the 2004-2005 term was an opportunity to help improve Tufts through programming.
"Halloween on the Hill, the Culture Fest ... these activities that the Senate helps to coordinate are just so much fun and they are so great for the school," he said. "The senate was comprised of unbelievably hard working and dedicated people who were influential to me."
When asked what could be done in upcoming years to improve the senate body, freshman TCU Senator Bruni Hirsch said there is a need for better communication between the senate and students.
"We are on the body to help students," she said.
Several projects senators could not finish by the completion of this academic year remain on the table for the 2005-2006 TCU Senate. These include the creation of an uphill eatery, the addition of gender identity and expression to Tufts' non-discrimination policy, and the installation of wireless Internet on the academic quad.
According to the second senate survey of this year, over 80 percent of the student body said they support the inclusion of gender identity and expression in Tufts' non-discrimination policy.
The quest for ESPN on the campus cable systems is one project whose prognosis remains uncertain. According to junior TCU Senator Ed Kalarfaski, administrative intervention will be necessary to get the ball rolling.
"I believe that anyone on the senate exploring this further would be a waste of time," he said.
