With nearly 200 clubs and on-campus organizations at Tufts, there is never a shortage of activities to strike your fancy. And if you can't find what you're looking for, you can always start up a new club - every year several new groups apply for recognition through the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ).
As a part of the process of recognition, student groups must provide the TCUJ with elements including a constitution, concrete proof of activity and a varied membership base. According to TCUJ Chair Adam Sax, a senior, these are the objective components of their decision to recognize or not recognize a group.
"There are certain key elements that each group needs to bring to the table," Sax said. "The objective parts are just there so ... there's this level playing field for groups within the TCU as well as groups applying to become part of the TCU."
There are aspects of the decision that are judged on a case-by-case basis, however. The Judiciary works to determine whether or not the group will serve a certain niche that is not already addressed by other groups on campus.
"These subjective elements - in combination with the objective elements -- are as fair as it can be. We don't see, and there hasn't ever been, a truly 100 percent objective way to do this," Sax said. "It is a judgment call on the part of the Judiciary, but, as elected officials, we're elected to make these judgment calls, in a way."
This year, four groups have been recognized - or rerecognized - including Midnight (at Tufts), Tufts Armenian Club, Amnesty International and Love146.
Midnight (at Tufts)
Midnight (at Tufts), which puts on free concerts for all Tufts students, was rerecognized by TCUJ this fall. Sophomores Max Bienstock, Dan Katter and Dan Turkel applied for recognition seeking to continue the group's mission after last year's leadership failed to complete the paperwork in the rerecognition process this past spring.
Katter expressed frustration about this arduous process given their prior status as a TCU-recognized group.
"In the time spent trying to get re-recognized, we could have been planning concerts and just doing what we wanted to do," Katter said.
Midnight (at Tufts) has worked to realize its goal of being an alternative source of music on campus. The group hosts eight shows each semester on a small budget, whereas Concert Board only puts on two shows per year on a larger scale. While the acts may be comparatively smaller, the breadth of the performances' genres is greater, including rock, jazz, pop and folk music.
"It just so happens that we can hit a wide variety of genres or music tastes, so we can keep drawing in people. The concerts put on are free and for everyone in the Tufts community," Bienstock said. "We are going to have music that is both something you probably haven't heard before, but is also accessible and will [hopefully] be appreciated by the student body at large."
Turkel says that Midnight (at Tufts) provides a different vibe and has a wide appeal for students.
"We don't have to cater to the lowest common denominator," he said. "We provide an alternative to the mainstream, large scale events that Tufts puts on, that feel very 'Tufts-put-on.' It's kids putting on concerts for kids."
Amnesty International
The Tufts chapter of Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, was also rerecognized this year. According to co-President Christina Luo, a senior, the organization focuses on a wide variety of human rights issues around the world including freedom of speech, gay rights, torture and the death penalty.
The Tufts chapter holds weekly meetings and other events, including a concert in April called Jamnesty, letter-writing campaigns and guest speakers.
"Last year we had the former representative to the special mission in Kosovo speak to us, and another year we had a former interrogator at Guantanamo Bay," Luo said.
Tufts Amnesty's next project is an art installation called the One Million Bones Project, which stems from a nationwide initiative to raise awareness about genocide in the Congo.
"I think everyone has heard of Amnesty International at the very least," Luo said. "Part of it is just that the Tufts culture is very much about social activism, doing the right thing, equality, justice - all of those buzzwords - so I think it really strikes a chord with people here."
The Armenian Club
The co-founders of the Armenian Club at Tufts, juniors Lisa Setrakian and KnarBedian, met during orientation freshman year and immediately bonded over their Armenian heritage. According to Bedian, they both noticed the absence of a group for Armenians at Tufts in contrast to most other schools in the Boston area.
"I came to Tufts knowing there was an Armenian Club there before, so I expected it to be here," Bedian said. "I went around the activities fair looking for the Armenian booth, but there wasn't one."
Hoping to fill that void, they began a two-year long process of gathering interested students and engaging in a variety of cultural activities together. The Armenian Club existed unofficially until the TCUJ recognized them this fall. Bedian acknowledged that it is now easier for interested students to reach out and become involved.
"I wanted the recognition just so it would be listed under Tufts and people could find us more easily, because if people don't know you're there, it's like you don't exist," she said.
The Tufts Armenian Club will host an event this December for similar groups at other Boston area schools. The group hopes to draw students from campus and the local community to create an inclusive space.
"Aside from bringing Armenians together, we hope to act like a moderator and help people who aren't Armenian or whoever wants to learn about Armenian culture [and come together for] events that are going on within and outside of the Tufts bubble," Bedian said.
Love146
The Tufts chapter of Love146 has been active since the spring of 2011 and officially became a TCU-recognized group this year. Love146 is an international anti-trafficking organization that is focused specifically on ending child sex slavery and exploitation.
Co-President Elaine Kim, a senior who also works with the international organization, explained that Love146 is unique in that it strives to use personal stories of survivors and victims of trafficking to spread awareness and make a more direct connection with those it seeks to educate.
"The reason we chose to work with Love146 is that they really focus on the message of hope, and the actual power of love," Kim said. "We really appreciated the way they approached the issue and that they focus so specifically on child sex slavery. But they partner with and support other groups that do things with different kinds of trafficking as well."
Kim explained that official recognition allowed the group to apply for funding from TCU, which has been beneficial.
"Not worrying about finding sponsorships in order to actually host events puts pressure off of that, and lets us focus more on the things we wanted to do like planning events and the educational aspects of it," she said.
Love146 runs many different kinds of events throughout the year, including benefit concerts, documentary screenings and the Abolitionist Curriculum, a series of six educational programs focused on the history of trafficking and how it can inform the prevention of child slavery.
"We want it to be a group that puts education as one of our main reasons, aside from fundraising for Love146," Kim said. "It is really important for us to go through the Abolitionist Curriculum each year so that we are making sure people are going deep into the reasons behind child trafficking."
