In most Tufts student elections, voting rates do not eclipse the 40 percent barrier. Given the poor quality of the platforms endorsed by the candidates running for TCU president tomorrow, we won't be surprised if the number is even lower.
All three candidates - Harish Perkari, Denise Lyn-Shue and Mitch Robinson - have put forth platforms that do not take into account what the TCU president can and cannot accomplish.
In today's News article, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman describes the role of a TCU president as that of an influential student lobbyist, rather than a policy maker. It is with this sentiment in mind that we examine the three candidates and offer a reluctant endorsement of Robinson.
Based on their campaign platforms, the slate conjures images of the sixth grader who runs for class president and promises soda machines in every hallway. It's a popular idea, but it's not going to happen.
This type of unrealistic thinking characterizes all three platforms. Perkari says he will lobby for an expansion of the Communications and Media Studies minor into a major, the establishment of a queer studies program and the growth of a Hindi/Urdu foreign language program. Lyn-Shue suggests implementing a training program for freshman advisors.
But academic policy tends to be out of the hands of the TCU Senate, for better or for worse. So the realization of either candidate's plans in that realm sounds doubtful.
And Robinson promises lower costs at the University bookstore and at the campus center. Well, the bookstore's pricing is set by Barnes and Noble, and the Tufts Board of Trustees has authority over food pricing at the campus center. So the accomplishment of those goals seems unlikely as well.
Certainly, the candidates campaign on these and other unrealistic goals in order to appeal to you, the student voter, at election time.
Robinson calls pedestrian safety his number one campaign issue - he may be hoping that this issue will resonate with voters, but are changes to Medford and Somerville road signage and lighting really under the jurisdiction of the TCU president?
And don't be fooled by any promises that would require significant cooperation from Tufts faculty. As remarks from Reitman and Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser in today's News article corroborate, changes to academic policy take a long time. As for Robinson's promises of cost-cutting, his proposals show a lack of understanding about who holds the purse strings to the book, food and copy costs that so plague Tufts students.
With all that said, some good ideas have come out of these campaigns. All three candidates express increased support for bringing the campus' multitude of student groups together with greater frequency, and all stress the idea of improved facilities around campus - two goals that this page seriously endorses and that seem more within the realm of what a TCU president could accomplish.
All three also stress the idea of better town-gown relations and push for an increased support of wireless access on campus, both of which are worthy endeavors that are already under way, and will probably continue regardless of the identity of the next president.
Lyn-Shue's platform is the most realistic and best-articulated in terms of accomplishing these goals. For example, she proposes holding scheduled meetings for the leaders of Tufts' student organizations, which is the closest thing on any platform to a concrete and specific plan of action.
As a veteran parliamentarian, Lyn-Shue has a platform that avoids many of the pitfalls that accompany the big ideas in Perkari and Robinson's platforms.
Nonetheless, we suggest that you recall Dean Reitman's statement describing the role of the TCU president as an influential lobbyist. While Reitman certainly wasn't offering his own endorsement for any one candidate, we feel that Robinson is the candidate who best wears the lobbyist hat.
It is impossible to discount Robinson's impressive record as a leader, organizer and advocate. In his capacity as student organizer for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick, Robinson has displayed the kind of communication and political skills that the job of TCU president requires.
In his intense and active campaigning over the past few weeks, Robinson has displayed the interpersonal and politicking skills that are necessary to lead a body as disparate as the TCU Senate.
Lyn-Shue's platform contains worthy policy ideas, many of which we strongly encourage her to move forward on in the future. If the TCU presidency were solely about devising policy, she would be the logical choice. As the last TCU presidencies have shown, however, this job has been about leading the Senate and communicating effectively with the rest of the University, not about pushing forth your own policy agendas or platforms.
This is a job that is best-suited to Robinson. We can only hope that if he does get the job, he will adjust his focus to reflect the realities of the Senate's limitations: selling Senate resolutions to the administration - not wheeling in soda machines.
