Brendan French, the outgoing Tufts Community Union Senate Treasurer and a current junior, was elected Senate president for the 2026–27 academic year. French defeated junior Defne Olgun, the Senate’s historian, and Michael Glueck, a class of 2027 senator.
“There’s a lot happening across campus, and there’s also real opportunity to make meaningful improvements,” French wrote in an Instagram post. “I’m committed to working on the priorities I shared throughout my campaign and to continuing that work as new challenges and ideas come forward.”
The Senate met in its last meeting of the semester on Sunday to hear speeches from members of the Executive Board, including the State of Diversity, the State of the Treasury and the State of the Union. The Senate also voted on a resolution to grant course credit for performance group members and heard an end-of-year recap from committee chairs.
Other members of the Senate’s leadership for the next academic year were also announced following internal elections. The results are as follows:
Executive Board
- Shefali Bakre — Vice President
- Michael Onysko — Treasurer
- Gunnar Ivarsson — Parliamentarian
- Jesse Kitumba — Diversity Officer
- Michael Williamson — Historian
Treasury
- Elle Chassin — Associate Treasurer
- Naisha Luthra — Associate Treasurer
- Anastasiya Korovska — Assistant Treasurer
Committee Chairs
- Spencer Kluger — Administration & Policy Chair
- Sydni Wheeler — Services Chair
- Jasmine Pun — Education Chair
- Michael Williamson — Outreach Chair
- Kirthi Vengat — Assistant Diversity Officer
Allocations Board
- Sanya Bandekar
- Ruby Appleton
- Gracie Felsenthal
- Luke Wakeman
In the meeting, outgoing President Dhruv Sampat gave a ‘State of the Union’ speech reflecting on his year as president and thanking the senators for their past year of work.
“This year’s Senate went above and beyond, from major initiatives like advocating for an increase in the student activities fee [to] pushing for greater tuition transparency,” Sampat said. “Programs that shape everyday student life, like the farmers market, the textbook exchange, late night dining … sports equipment for students — we have truly done so much as a body.”
“Four years ago itself, this body looked very, very different, and we’ve come so far, brick by brick, building this into something that has been more transparent, more representative and more accountable,” he added. “It is far from perfect, and it is very much incomplete, but I promise you, you will get there.”
French also gave a summation speech as he ended his term as treasurer, in which he thanked members of the Treasury and Allocations Board.
“This is the first year we have actually been able to maintain 11 full members being on the [Allocations Board],” French said. “We had the most office hours offered just because our assistant treasurers are really stepping up this year.”
Sophomore Jesse Kitumba, who is self-succeeding as diversity officer, mentioned some highlights from his time as diversity officer in his closing speech.
“I’m very proud of how [Community Diversity & Inclusion] is evolving, how much [the] Senate is supporting CCDI and our push to have a more diverse, equitable and fun Senate,” Kitumba said.
Finally, the Senate heard a resolution focused on granting course credit for those participating in performance groups on campus.
“This resolution calls for a formal approval and implementation of this credit-bearing structure by the Administration of Tufts University,” the resolution reads.
Representatives from various performance groups came and spoke on behalf of the resolution, sharing that they rehearse at least seven hours per week — more than the time commitment for credit-bearing Tufts music groups or courses.
After some debate amongst the Senators, the resolution passed 22–0–2.
Members of the General Board, including Services Chair Shefali Bakre and Administration & Policy Chair Spencer Kluger, also shared updates from their committees in the meeting.
“Over the past year, the services committee has worked to enhance student life by improving campus resources, advocating for student needs and launching new initiatives across a variety of focus areas,” Bakre said.
“Everyone was so dedicated, especially new senators that joined the body and joined the committee this year [and] really demonstrated what it means to be an advocate, a leader and someone who truly cares about the community,” Kluger said.
Vice President Alexander Vang also shared a reflection from their time in the role.
“I’m very excited to see what [general board] does every year. I think this was a very great year,” Vang said. “I think [this is] the best I’ve seen Senate, and it continues. I see this trajectory of Senate continue every year. We go up and up and up.”
