Thirteen freshman candidates vying for a spot on the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate last night shared their ideas for the upcoming year in HotungCafé in anticipation of tomorrow's election.
Harish Gupta, Darien Headen, Dan Healy, Jacob Indursky, Robert Joseph, Dan Katter, Ben Kurland, Andrew Nunez, Chloe Perez, Matt Roy, Jessie Serrino, Kelly Vieira and Lesley Wellener are each seeking one of the seven Senate seats allocated to the freshman class.
Each candidate delivered a prepared opening statement and closing statement and also fielded three questions from Tufts Elections Commission and the audience. The candidates were asked to discuss their experience, their interest in the various Senate committees and what role they believe is the Senate should play in campus unity and diversity.
Many of the candidates had specific ideas for what they would do to improve the university, while others did not have concrete ideas. Several candidates cited their previous leadership experiences in high school as a reason why they would be successful as senators.
Candidates outlined extending the hours of various campus buildings, improving Tufts' sustainability, making Tufts more accommodating to student interests and increasing communication between the Senate and the student body, as among their priorities.
TCU President Tomas Garcia, a senior, was impressed with the quality of the candidates' responses.
"It's a great pool," he said. "I think that the candidates as a whole are putting forward some very interesting ideas."
Garcia strongly urged the freshman class to vote for their representatives tomorrow.
"I'm very excited to see the results of the election on Tuesday, and I encourage the entire freshman class to get out there and vote, because it really does make a difference."
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