A mid-year election has been called to fill the open junior seat on the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate that was vacated last semester by junior Ivan Nurminsky.
Andrew Caplan and Mitchell "Mitch" Robinson met with the Elections Board (ELBO) on Jan. 25 to declare their candidacy.
Nurminsky was forced to resign from the TCU Senate last semester for poor meeting attendance, according to the Senate's bylaws. He was unavailable for comment at press time.
The contested election comes as a surprise to many members of the TCU Senate community, given that many Tufts juniors are currently studying abroad.
"In my years on Senate, it's surprising to see a mid-year upper-class election go contested," Junior Senator Harish Perkari said.
"It's a really good sign that people are interested in the political process at Tufts," Senior Senator Rafi Goldberg said of the fact that the open seat is being contested.
ELBO Chair Denise Wiseman presided over the candidates' meeting on Wednesday. She stressed the need for rapid movement with the election: "We want to get this done quickly so we can have a full body for the rest of the year," she said.
Caplan and Robinson are both hopeful about the upcoming election. Caplan served on the TCU Senate in his freshman and sophomore years, but was ineligible to run for the full-year position because he studied abroad last semester. He called the open seat "fortuitous."
"In one way or another, I hope to be involved with the [TCU Senate] again this semester," he said.
This is Robinson's first time running for TCU Senate.
"I wasn't interested before because I wanted to experience Tufts in a different light. I didn't see an urgent need for help at the time, but now I do," he said.
Now, Robinson sees the TCU Senate as a unique body that has the ability to influence both faculty and student groups.
"You shouldn't run for anything unless you can think you can do the job to your best ability," he said. "I can do that."
At the hearing, Wiseman briefed Caplan and Robinson on campaign rules and election procedures. Close attention was paid to campaigning regulations: ELBO closely monitors and regulates all forms of campaigning, including activity conducted on forums such as TheFacebook.com and AOL Instant Messenger.
A candidates' forum will be held tonight at 9:30 in Hotung Cafe. Both candidates will be present to give opening remarks and to field questions from the student body audience.
The election will take place Feb. 2 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Campus Center.
Only juniors will be permitted to vote, and they will be required to present valid Tufts ID and cross their names off of a master list.
