While this is a rebuttal to the election endorsement of junior Sam Wallis in yesterday's Tufts Daily, we cannot agree more with the assertion that we must move beyond petty analysis of campaign strategies, dispense with preconceived notions and focus on the candidates themselves. That being said, we would like to remind readers that those who wrote that endorsement are no more qualified to assess these candidates than you or us, and they are, despite being unidentified by the guidelines of editorial writing, students just like us.
Much has been said of how similar the two candidates' platforms are. As I see it, this couldn't be further from the truth. We question the grasp that the Daily editorial board has over the workings of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate. Anyone familiar with how change happens through student government at Tufts (which we are only privy to because of our own initiatives to learn more about this body that handles our student activities payments) will tell you that a president who assumes office with a detailed and overworked set of ideas may doom the body to an unproductive and frustrating year.
On Senate, serving with the president are 34 other Senators who are loathe to have a leader who too stringently spells out exactly what it is they should be doing that year. As opposed to getting too tied to campaign−generated projects, it is important that a candidate stay open to forming the agenda of the year after they are elected and able to collaborate with the whole Senate body. We question the practicality of Sam's ideas, but more importantly we wonder why one of his biggest campaign points is a late−night diner that is dubiously plausible, costly and not something more in line with the role and purpose of the TCU president.
We would argue, however, that the qualifications and experience that these two candidates profess make them both capable and prepared to take an executive position in the Senate next year. Still, we think it is unwise to capitalize on the lack of knowledge of many students concerning Senate and what exactly a position like the president's entails. More than anything, the person that is elected TCU president is looked at to set the tone for the year, and we have gathered from the debates and the platforms of these two candidates would set drastically different ones.
While we believe that Wallis is a respected senator who will continue to motivate members of committees to push forward on these projects that are the core of his platform, we believe Lauren Levine is prepared to go a step further and hold the body accountable to the mission of being the voice of all students. Yesterday's editorial cited presidents of the past who have run on messages focused on overarching issues in the TCU, claiming they were ultimately unrealistic goals that were never pragmatic ideas for only a year in office. However, I would like to point out that if these students had attended the presidential debate on Monday night, they would have heard Levine herself say she does not believe these greater issues can be tackled in her term alone.
Many successful endeavors of Senate have started with one student's idea: the library roof renovation into a green space, the creation of Hotung Café and the upcoming renovation of the Mayer Campus Center are just a few examples. There is no reason why Levine cannot be the catalyst for a Senate that addresses itself to concerns that affect all students.
Lauren has shown through her past three years at Tufts that she can produce noticeable improvements for students. She has worked to eliminate ticket costs on campus, to rework the TCU financial system in the wake of a $1 million embezzlement scandal, to enhance freshman orientation and increase school spirit by planning and implementing events like Nighttime Quad Reception and Springcoming and has funded student initiatives like a cabin for the Tufts Mountain Club and an overhaul of the WMFO radio studio. As president, Lauren will preside over similar projects to help students, but more importantly, she will set a tone for all Senates that follow — ensuring that recognizing and addressing the concerns of all students is the body's chief goal.
In the end, it is the difference between choosing a president who will work within the limited, historical bounds of Senate, or a president who, able to handle herself within those bounds, will also expand the meaning and power of Senate to enhance its relevance to all students.
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Alexandra Lis-Perlis is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. Xavier Malina is a senior majoring in political science and is a member of the TCU Senate, as well as a member of Levine's TCU Presidential Campaign team.
