Getting elected to government does not get much easier than senior Kate Drizos' campaign for the TCU Senate.
She collected the required 75 signatures from her fellow students, attended a meeting on Tuesday evening, and waited a few minutes. After the Elections Board verified a random sampling of her signatures, it was over. Drizos replaced Athena Bogis as the seventh Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator for the Class of 2006.
Drizos was inspired to join the Senate through her work as co-coordinator of freshman orientation and discussions with former senator and current trustee representative Cho Ling.
"Through meeting different people during orientation, I've realized that Tufts administrators have the capacity to listen to student opinion and take it seriously," she said. "I thought I'd get involved in the organization that represents all the students."
Drizos is also an assistant arts editor for the Daily.
Her unopposed election eliminated one of the vacancies created by two resignations last week. Bogis left the Senate because she is taking the semester off. Freshman Andrew Lee left the Senate six weeks after his election, citing the organization's heavy time commitment.
Seven freshman candidates have signed up to fill Lee's spot. Kris Coombs, Constantin Sabet D'Acre, Greg Meiselbach and Matt Shapanka were among the 15 unsuccessful candidates in the September freshman election. The three other candidates - Elton Sykes, Daniel Hartman and Matt LaPolice - have not run before.
For the second time around, the previously defeated candidates are changing their strategies. Coombs, who received 5 percent of votes cast last time, believes his chances will be increased because this time he is running alone. He was the only member of the four-person "4PlayforSenate" platform not to win a seat in September.
"I really wanted to be on the Senate last time," Coombs said, "and since I was so close I really think I can make it this time and fill up that empty spot." Students with 6 percent or more of the vote in the last round were given a seat.
Coombs plans to increase his name recognition with the class through postering and chalking near the campus center and the library.
Even though he is just a freshman, Sabet D'Acre is already a campus election veteran. In addition to the first campaign for the Senate, he also ran unsuccessfully for freshman class council. But his lack of victory has not dampened his spirit for the upcoming race.
"I want to play an important role in the community and I'm not giving up," Sabet D'Acre said.
He is currently working on a "Bill of Rights" for students, which he described as a quick reference for students in potentially troublesome situations, including those that involve dugs and alcohol.
The student population, he said, is unclear of many of these regulations. "I cannot officially go in your room if your door isn't open," he said, "and many students don't know that."
Shapanka is emphasizing his experience as a walk-on - a non-elected, non-voting member - on the Senate's administration and budget committee as proof that he is already qualified for office.
"Unlike last time, this candidacy isn't about proposals," he said. "It's about continuing projects I'm already working on."
He is involved in a project with Senator Rafi Goldberg, a senior, to create a universal booklist to increase buybacks at the bookstore. Shapanka also wants to revive a project from two years ago that would install a GPS tracking system on the Joey, so people in Davis Square and the campus center know where the bus is and how long it will be before the next pickup.
The proposal was pushed aside after discussions with Joseph's Limousine and Transportation made the Joey adhere more strictly to its posted schedule. Shapanka argued that the tracker is still important for the Joey.
"People still complain about it," he said. "Even though it's on a schedule, it doesn't come on time."
There is also a potential public safety issue for students who are unsure how long it will be until there is another Joey deciding to walk back from Davis Square at night, he said.
If the results of the last election are a predictor, Shapanka has his work cut out for him. Last time he received 2 percent of the votes. Meiselbach received 4 percent, while Coombs and D'Acre both had 5 percent.
Shapanka is undeterred. "One of things I'm trying to do this time is meet more people," he said. "I want people to say, 'Hey, I know that guy, and I'm going to vote for him.'"
The seven candidates will square off in a candidate forum on Monday. The election will be held the next day using paper ballots. Elections Board Chair Denise Wiseman said that is not enough time to alert University officials to set up an online election. The Election Board's agreement with the University only lets the group conduct three elections per year online: the fall and spring general elections and the presidential election in the spring.
Since Lee resigned because of the time commitment required, TCU President Jeff Katzin discussed the issue some at the candidate meeting on Tuesday. He said he would discuss the time commitment more at the candidate forum.
He was confident the election would add a strong member to the Senate because by mid-semester, most students have worked out their activity schedules and priorities. "Usually what ends up happening is the person who ends up replacing [a senator] is really solid," he said.
