Junior Emerson Luke stepped down from the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate on Saturday, citing personal reasons in an e-mail to the Senate body.
Luke told the Daily that his academic and other extracurricular interests conflicted with his Senate duties.
"Lately, especially this semester, I had been feeling pretty overwhelmed," Luke said. "I didn't see that I was able to effectively invest as much as I could have in Senate [or] in being a student."
At the Senate meeting on Sunday, TCU President Neil DiBiase said it was unclear whether there would be elections to replace Luke's position before the end of this semester. There are four Senate meetings left this semester.
TCU Historian Alex Pryor said that there would be a "two-week turnover" if an election were conducted to fill Luke's vacated seat. With spring break on the horizon and elections for next year's Senate positions coming up soon after the recess, she said a special election might not occur.
The third senator to leave the body this semester, Luke was a co-chair of the Senate's Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs Committee. The committee's other co-chair, junior Jen Bailey, will continue to run it in the wake of Luke's resignation.
"She's very capable," Luke said. He added that he will also contribute in other ways to the Senate projects he was previously working on.
"I [also] still plan on helping out with Culture Fest, just not in the capacity I was planning on doing," Luke said, referring to the week-long series of programs and events hosted by the Intercultural Center. "I still plan to help out as much as I can."
Senators Chas Morrison and Sam Wallis, both freshmen, will take the reigns on Luke's ongoing judicial review board project, Luke said.
In a Feb. 10 resolution co-submitted by Luke, the Senate proposed the creation of a board to review academic dishonesty cases in which there appears to be "indisputable evidence" against accused students. The judicial affairs officer in the Student Affairs Office is responsible for identifying this evidence.
Luke said he had been working with Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman and Judicial Affairs Officer Veronica Carter on the administration's plans to implement the Senate's
suggestions.
Luke said he will be focusing on his academic classes and an LSAT prep course. He said he does not plan on running for a Senate position next year.
Senior Amanda Richardson stepped down as TCU Senate Education Committee Chair earlier this semester, and Evan Dreifuss, a senior, resigned as TCU treasurer when he left Tufts on medical leave.
