The Tufts Community Union Senate did not pass any resolutions last semester, which marks a difference from previous semesters that can be attributed to changes in how the Senate approaches student feedback. Resolutions are formal lobbying tools often used by student groups and individuals to necessitate Senate action on an issue.
“The resolution process really is a way for students to officially, sort of, raise their voices and voice their opinions about certain aspects and certain elements on campus and really get the administration’s attention and discuss it in a formalized way,” TCU President Dhruv Sampat, a senior, said. “[Resolutions are] generally addressed to someone within the administration and create a formal dialogue … with the administration.”
TCU Diversity Officer Jesse Kitumba, a sophomore, does acknowledge that the resolution process can be difficult for students unfamiliar with it. “The multiple steps, between drafting, revisions, review and scheduling office hours can make things feel long, especially for students who are unfamiliar with Senate procedures or timelines,” he wrote.
Sampat, however, acknowledges the importance of the extra paperwork in holding the administration accountable.
“It’s a more unique way of addressing a problem than, for example, creating a project, because it leaves a paper trail and it holds people accountable and creates room for conversation,” Sampat said.
Sampat also spoke about why he believes resolutions are not always the most effective way to create change through the Senate because of the long, bureaucratic process and high burden that it places on students.
“[The resolution process] puts a lot of responsibility on students that are not being compensated in any way for representing communities on campus, representing other students on campus,” Sampat said.
“We always try to encourage as many students to submit resolutions, and I always love hearing resolutions on the floor,” Kitumba wrote. “I, however, also acknowledge that it is a multiple week’s process and that can make it feel like it is strenuous, especially for people not on Senate. This could possibly discourage some students or student groups from participating, but we also do not have enough data to say that for certain.”
TCU Historian Defne Olgun, a sophomore, said that she does not believe the lack of resolutions this semester is unusual.
“Numbers wise, we might not have seen as many resolutions as we did in the spring,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it’s particularly unusual. I think it just changes with the season, depending on who’s on Senate, what student groups are choosing to bring up resolutions.”
Sampat also said that he believes that lack of resolutions was due to the Senate focusing on long term policy changes and initiatives, rather than waiting for a resolution to be passed.
“What we’re doing differently is, as soon as a group of students say we want to write this, we directly go to the administration, loop those students in and connect them with relevant administrators to sort of bypass that entire process where possible,” he added. “And that’s why those [resolution] numbers may not look as high, but the impact is the same or more just because of how we’ve changed the way that we’re doing things.”
Olgun also notes that, “while the Senate does vote and that is binding for us to take action, that does not necessarily mean that the university is bound to follow the outcome of that resolution.”
“We cannot necessarily force the hand of the school,” Olgun added. “Just because we’re joining with something does not necessarily mean the university will listen and do exactly what we say.”
Neither Sampat nor Olgun believe that a changing political climate or landscape has contributed to the lack of resolutions in the fall semester.
“I don’t get the sense that people are afraid to bring up resolutions. But it’s more so that people want to be more thoughtful and more pointed about what those resolutions mean, and we’ve done a better job of also being more truthful and honest to students in telling them that, ‘hey, you’re presenting this, but very realistically, this is what is likely to get done,’” Sampat said. “There have been several instances in the past where students have really put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and the administration sort of slammed the door on things that have been presented.”
“I could imagine that there is some sort of hesitancy, given the last set of controversial resolutions that the Senate passed [in spring 2024], that students may have felt like did not necessarily go anywhere just because their administration is not necessarily bound by the outcome of those resolutions,” Olgun said. “So there might be some frustration there with students not wanting to go through the resolution process if they don’t see the outcome as worth the effort.”
“There’s been a lot of things that we’ve been able to handle and move forward with on behalf of the student body, but not necessarily moving through the resolution process, and perhaps that makes the work of Senate a little bit less visible,” Olgun said.
