Senator Gautam Kitchlu resigned as chair of the Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs (CECA) committee - a chair he had previously shared with former Senator Pritesh Gandhi- at Sunday night's weekly meeting of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate.
Senator Ariana Flores and, in an unprecedented move, Culture Representative Kelly Sanborn were elected to the positions of co-chair in an uncontested election. Sanborn is the culture rep for Tufts Transgender, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Collective (TTLGBC).
While all culture reps are required to sit on CECA, the election marks the first time that a representative has chaired an influential committee. According to Flores, Kitchlu resigned from heading the committee because he has too many other commitments and felt that others would have more time to do a better job. She said that she and Sanborn are fully prepared to co-chair the committee.
"Kelly and I were interested, and it just worked," Flores said. She and Sanborn have been involved in CECA's affairs this year and, according to Gandhi, can easily take over the committee. Their new responsibilities include running the Wednesday night Cultural Coordinating Committee (CCC) meetings, where culture groups to come to discuss their needs.
Sanborn's election to CECA comes after the Daily reported last week that some senators felt culture reps should not maintain their right to vote in Senate proceedings. While culture representatives cannot serve on Tufts Allocation Board (ALBO) or Elections Board (ELBO), they still maintain a vote in all Senate affairs.
If senators were opposed to the election of a culture rep to the head of a committee, though, they did not show their actions Sunday night. No one contested the co-election of Sanborn and Flores, which received small attention when compared to the other events of Sunday's meeting.
When asked how the election might change her role on the Senate, Sanborn said the position will "broaden the scope of her job." She added that her role as a CECA co-chair will not take away from her responsibilities to her culture group.
Sanborn has been an effective representative for the TTLGBC this year, spearheading initiatives such as gender-neutral bathrooms. Her election to chair CECA expands the ability of culture reps to influence Senate affairs.
Flores has been active in representing Latino cultural organizations on campus through committees such as CECA and the CCC. She said CECA is currently working on several projects, including the advent of a Latino Studies curriculum at Tufts and initiatives aimed at greater Asian American Studies options. Additionally, CECA wants to make the procedure for reporting harassment cases "as easy as possible," and to have a forum for improving communications between the administration and the students.
Marc Frost contributed to this report.
