Though junior Neil DiBiase now sits atop the TCU Senate, he didn't come to Tufts with the intention of joining student government: His involvement with the Tufts Senate began as a dare during his freshman year.
"I figured I really had nothing to lose," DiBiase said.
Two years later, DiBiase is the Senate's president and serves as one of the student body's primary representatives.
But although DiBiase's current position implies serious responsibilities, his political career began with a much lighter air. After making the decision to meet the dare's challenge, DiBiase found ways to inject humor into his initial campaign.
"My freshman campaign revolved around me being fat as a child," he said. "My parents made me wrestle as a kid to try and lose weight, and so one of my campaign posters was of me in a [wrestling suit], looking terrified, with the slogan, 'He will fight for you.' I had another poster of me in a turtleneck with literally four chins that said: 'He lost 60 pounds: don't make him lose anything else.'"
Exhibiting the changes made to his physique, DiBiase's campaign also marked his desire to instigate change on campus.
"In terms of running, I think I just realized it's really easy to complain about things, but it's also more rewarding to do something about it," he said.
Despite his involvement with the Model United Nations, Tufts Friends of Israel, Hillel and various other student groups, DiBiase extended his role in student government, becoming TCU Senate president for the 2007-2008 academic year.
As Senate President, DiBiase faced the controversy of the firing of former Office of Student Affairs [OSA] Director Jodie Nealley, who was accused of using her position to embezzle thousands of dollars from the school. But DiBiase, whose job includes direct involvement with the OSA Director, said he remained optimistic even though the situation had the potential to negatively impact the Senate.
"The Nealley scandal was detrimental to us because she's been a mentor and close friend to a number of senators," DiBiase said. "However, it's given us an opportunity to examine our policies. The whole process has been disappointing, but at the end of the day it's going to be beneficial because we're using this opportunity to see how this won't happen again, and also to see how we can get the money back where it needs to go."
Since winning the election, DiBiase said his Senate-related duties have become his first priority in many regards, sometimes overshadowing his academics.
"Senate is my job. It's what I love, and it will always be a part of my Tufts experience," he said. "Academics are great and necessary, but for me, the drive to improve things for the school is much more powerful than debating 'Math of Social Choice.'"
DiBiase said that while his commitment to the Senate requires an enormous amount of time, he stays energized because he enjoys what he does.
"I chair the Senate meeting on Sunday night, which can last anywhere from three to seven hours," DiBiase said. "In my position, you're always 'on,' and that's what I love. I love days where you're in back-to- back meetings. One of the best things is that it's all self-motivated."
Adhering to his campaign goals, DiBiase has tried to facilitate conversation about important issues between the Senate and Tufts students.
"Really my goal has been to frame conversations in a schoolwide sense, i.e., 'How is whatever we're doing going to affect the school as a whole?'" DiBiase said. "We're trying to look at experiences that will affect every student. If renovating the common rooms means that people will use them, then by all means, we'll do it."
But arranging communication between various clubs and students has become one of the most difficult challenges facing Tufts' campus.
"One of my biggest frustrations is that we have the resources and the people - there's just no centralization. It's frustrating when the programming board sets up a pep rally and the athletics teams don't show up due to lack of communication," DiBiase said.
Aside from communication difficulties, DiBiase said that a surplus of student groups, activities and organizations contributes to the lack of centralization on campus.
"It's not that we're under-programmed - it's that we're over-programmed into small groups, which is by no means a bad thing, but here it's just the reality that there are 14 things happening on a Thursday night," he said.
In order to organize an approach to the issues at hand, DiBiase has established specific committees to address campus issues.
"I've instituted four specialized committees this year: one on alcohol policy which includes senators and judicial advocates, one on social life, one on the first-year experience and one last one on community values," he said. "Those committees are kind of my babies; students, administrators, faculty are all involved."
The social life on campus has also become one of the primary focuses of DiBiase's presidency.
"My big, sexy project for the year is to get everyone involved and get everyone's feedback," DiBiase said. "I want to work on social life; it really has become my passion. At the end of the day, this committee we've formed [for social life on campus] is doing everything right, it's just not centralized. If we can make progress in social life, I hope the student body will be happier. The vast majority of complaints are about social life."
DiBiase believes that such goals can only be accomplished when every faction of the community is involved in finding a solution.
"We are starting those conversations that focus on bringing everyone together," DiBiase said. "I essentially wanted to centralize experiences here at Tufts."
Although DiBiase has immersed himself in student government, he said politics will not play a role in his future.
"This is the highest office I want to hold," he said. "It's a blast - a lot of fun - but I'm definitely more of a projects person. I like getting my hands dirty by identifying a problem and fixing it. This job is more of a facilitation role, which is still great, but not something I want to do in the future."
