Freshman Matt LaPolice has been elected to fill the open Tufts Community Union Senate seat.
LaPolice got 22 percent of the vote in Tuesday's special election to replace Andrew Lee, who resigned Oct. 24.
After his election, LaPolice said he was excited to have won. "I'm really happy," he said. "It's really good to know that my classmates support me and believe that I can represent them."
He defeated six other candidates: Kris Coombs, Constantin Sabet d'Acre, Daniel Hartman, Greg Meiselbach, Matt Shapanka and Elton Sykes. The turnout was high, Tufts Community Union President Jeff Katzin said. Thirty-eight percent -- 534 out of 1396 eligible students -- voted.
"We're happy to have him on board, and look forward to bringing him up to speed, which should be easy to do," Katzin said.
LaPolice said he is looking into lengthening dining hall hours, which he said is the one issue students he has spoken to have repeatedly raised. He plans to work with the current senators who are already pursuing the project.
LaPolice won the election by a small margin. Coombs, the runner-up, got 20 percent of the vote and Sabet d'Acre got 18 percent. Unlike LaPolice, both Coombs and Sabet d'Acre -- and Meiselbach and Shapanka -- ran and lost in the fall general election.
"It is important that the election was close," Katzin said. He said the significant amount of support received by the losing candidates should encourage them to participate in the Senate by serving on a committee. Any interested student, not just senators, can "walk-on" and serve on Senate committees. Walk-on members cannot vote.
"I'm not very surprised," Sabet d'Acre said of his defeat. He said LaPolice had a "major advantage" because he lives in Houston Hall, an all-freshmen dorm, and could more easily encourage freshmen to vote. "I'm personally disappointed," Sabet d'Acre said.
Sabet d'Acre currently serves on the Senate's Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs committee.
Matt Shapanka, who got 16 percent of Tuesday's votes, serves on the Senate's Administration and Budget Committee. "It's partly an interest and partly a responsibility" to serve Tufts, he said of his committee work.
Shapanka said he will continue to serve on the committee and attend Senate meetings. He also said he plans to run again. "I'm disappointed, but I'll be back," he said. "I will run again if a seat opens up, and in April if a seat doesn't open up."
LaPolice said he considered running for the Senate in September, but that he wanted to make sure he could manage his school workload. "After being here for a while, and being settled, I know I can handle the time commitment," he said.
Lee resigned because of the position's time commitment.
