The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate opened session last night with an open forum address on behalf of a student who hopes to open a used book distribution business on campus. While the company has agreed to a profit-sharing arrangement between itself and Tufts, the question remains whether the business would violate the Tufts University Bookstore's non-competition clause in its contract with the university.
Senators Jessie Serrino, a sophomore, and Ethan Finkelstein, a freshman, won approval to lobby the administration for an extension of the pass/fail deadline. Although the university's Educational Policy Committee supports extending the deadline to the class drop deadline for freshmen, some members of the committee are considering giving the extension to all students, Serrino said.
Senator and freshman Brain Tesser's project to push for outdoor benches and study areas also passed.
The body also approved a project by Senator Janna Karatas, a freshman, to attach the Senate's name to a planned appreciation dinner for janitorial and dining services personnel.
Tufts Canon, a student-written literary journal, received a supplementary funds allocation of $10,000 after a much-debated vote. The funds will cover the journal's publication through spring of 2013. The group's request was large because of a high number of submissions this semester, three times the response they received last semester. As a result, the Canon will be publishing a double-sized edition, reducing the number of colors to save in printing costs.
Several senators debated the investment, suggesting that the body should allocate a smaller amount and base next semester's funding on the community's response to the double-edition. Others pointed out that the Canon's staff was using a bulk order deal to save money in the long run. The allocation eventually passed 13-7-2.
