Although the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate will not nominate presidential candidates for another month, two members of the executive board have made public their presidential aspirations. The Senate vice president, Eric Greenberg, and the treasurer, Michelle Shelton, will compete for the top student government position in the April election, if both are first reelected to the Senate by the junior class.
Yesterday, Greenberg and Shelton confirmed rumors that have been floating around the Senate and campus since September.
Senator Erin Ross, whose name has also been mentioned in student government circles, would not completely rule out a campaign, but downplayed rumors that she plans to run.
"I'm not closing myself off at this point, but I'm probably not going to run," she said. "I'm not 100 percent on that, but that's where I'm leaning at this point."
The TCU constitution requires that the Senate choose two candidates to run in a presidential election. If Ross, or a third candidate, decides to run, senators would have to chose among them. Once next year's senators are elected in April, however, any one of them could decide to compete for one of the two Senate nominations. For now, at least, Greenberg and Shelton appear to be the frontrunners.
Last year's presidential race saw four people - then-juniors David Moon, Moira Poe, and Alessandro Terenzoni and sophomore Anoop Swaminath - try for the Senate nominations. When the Senate chose Moon and Poe, Terenzoni remained on the Senate and ran for vice president. Swaminath resigned.
As the TCU Senate's highest ranking leaders, aside from the president, Greenberg and Shelton are natural candidates. Poe was the Senate vice president last year, and the two TCU presidential elections before that pitted a vice president against a treasurer.
This year looks no different, as both Greenberg and Shelton see themselves as potential frontrunners in the race. "I intend to run.... I came to the decision at the beginning of the semester" Greenberg said. "I feel strong in my position, since the reelection process is based on people's accomplishments as well as the changing face of the Senate."
Shelton said her experience as treasurer allowed her to get close to students, which will aid her in her campaign and a potential presidency. "I think the president needs to be a spokesperson of the student body," she said. "And with my treasury background, I have seen students from all different organizations. So I've gained a really good understanding of how things work and the problems that everyday students face."
But, Shelton added that nothing in a campaign is ever definite. "I think any election is an uphill battle," she said.
If both Greenberg and Shelton are reelected, and if the new Senate nominates them to run, the race could shape up to be a close one, with platforms, popularity, and campaign styles as deciding factors. According to Moon, two constitutional amendments that will most likely appear on the presidential ballot will also affect the race.
One of the proposed amendments would give the Senate's four culture representatives full voting rights. The other amendment would add an additional clause to the Senate's nondiscrimination policy that protects self-acceptance of identity. The amendments' sponsors must secure 250 signatures before the proposals can be placed on the ballot.
Issues surrounding either of these controversial measures could influence students' vote for president, Moon said.
"I think the position the candidates take on those two positions will be interesting, and they may or may not play a factor depending on people's stances," he said. "But I could see it becoming an issue."
He added, however, that the election could also come down to basic campaigning: "I think this election is really going to be decided on a who's going to be able to get out the vote. And I think a lot of its going to be decided on leadership styles," he said.
