"It's time for a new face for Tufts," Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator and presidential candidate Samia Zahran told the Daily in an in-depth interview.
Zahran, a sophomore, has made her most important priority student government transparency, communication and unity -- a trifecta she called "a new TCU," which she promises to bolster as president. She called for more communication between student groups and between those groups and the Senate.
Over the past couple weeks, Zahran has worked to make her campaign one that she says better represents a broader segment of the Tufts student body than do the campaigns of her opponents, sophomore Chas Morrison and junior Brandon Rattiner.
Zahran served on Senate freshman year as a community representative but refrained from participating in the organization this past year. Community representatives are liaisons between the Senate and certain student groups; Zahran represented the Pan-African Alliance.
During her time on Senate, she submitted a resolution that would extend the fall reading period by one day. That reading period has historically lasted for two days, while the spring reading period as been three days. Her resolution passed in the Senate.
At the time, administrators did not act on the Senate resolution, which is non-binding for the administration; even if they did, any change they would have made to the calendar would not have taken effect for at least a couple of years, as the university draws up the academic calendar far in advance. Zahran said she wants to pursue the project again next year.
Samia, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., is double majoring in child development and cognitive and brain sciences. She decided not to run for a position on Senate this past academic year to free up time for other activities.
"I wanted to take a year off to see what else Tufts had to offer," she said. "Being a freshman [on Senate] limited my choices for other activities."
This year, Zahran stepped up her involvement with a number of student organizations, including the dance group Spirit of Color, the Tufts Burlesque Troupe, the Filipino Cultural Society, the Muslim Student Association and the newly formed Arab Student Association.
Zahran said this gave her time away from the "Senate bubble" that can distort Senate members' views of student government and of the student body as a whole. "I can draw from my Senate experience, but also from my year [away from it], and bring the two worlds together," she said.
Her campaign manager, Brandon Sultan, said this time off is a positive point.
"Samia is fresh -- she's coming in having had a year away from the Senate," Sultan, a junior, said. "She's not caught up in the politics of [the] TCU, not bound by anything."
As president, Zahran said she would create a Senate newsletter that would be distributed alongside other campus publications and would keep students apprised of Senate activities.
She also expressed the need to get more senators involved with the Senate's Student Outreach Committee. Additionally, she wants to start an "open forum" for leaders of student groups to meet "no less than twice a month" with the TCU president, and to revamp the semesterly Senate survey, administering it earlier in the year to give senators more time to act on the findings of the survey.
Zahran's decision to seek the presidency came much later than either of her two opponents, both of whom began laying the groundwork for their campaigns before spring break. In fact, Rattiner met with Zahran about his campaign before Zahran announced her intention to run.
"I started to think about who I'd support, and what I believed in," she said. "And someone said to me, 'Samia, why don't you run for president?' I hadn't thought of it before."
Zahran's later start to her presidential bid has put her at a disadvantage with regard to visibility. Her campaign plans to begin a heightened visibility effort this week, with the launch of her campaign Web site, Zahran said.
"I've had to rush to do everything," she said, explaining how she has met with students from across the student body. "But the main reason is that I feel there are more important things than writing your name on the sidewalk."
Sophomore Jamie Kleinberg, a close friend of Zahran and a campaign advisor, said that Zahran has an ability to "draw in people from everywhere" on campus. For Kleinberg, a student in the School of Engineering, this issue is particularly important. Zahran has emphasized the need for unity between students in the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering.
But Rattiner and Morrison have jumped on Zahran's relative lack of Senate experience; both Morrison and Rattiner have served as senators for two years.
"She's worked on one project in two years in Senate," Rattiner said, referring to Zahran's goal of extending the fall reading period. "I think you need a better holistic experience."
Some students have found fault with Zahran's relative lack of public exposure, saying it may hinder her viability in the election.
"It's hard to get behind a candidate when you have no idea who she is or where she stands," said sophomore Evan Lacher, a volunteer on Morrison's campaign.
Still, senior Jessica Snow, a member of the Tufts Burlesque Troupe, praised Zahran.
"She's really dedicated; she really steps up whenever she's asked," Snow said of Zahran's involvement with the troupe. "I'm really impressed with her."
