Editorial: Rethinking TDC

As the Student Life Review Committee undertakes its assessment of undergraduate student life culture, including Greek life, other exclusive social organizations at Tufts should be examined as well. Tufts Dance Collective (TDC) is one group in which social capital plays a large role in participation.

TDC has long been a part of Tufts tradition, with shows going back to at least 1992, and it is an undeniably fun way to bring the Tufts community together. However, there are several aspects of the organization that could be improved. 

It is apparent to anyone who has seen the 9:30 p.m. TDC show that alcohol consumption plays a large role in the group. As a former TDC dancer and choreographer admitted in an op-ed that appeared in the Daily in December 2013, there is an extensive 'mid-game,' when dancers binge drink between the early and late TDC shows. The drinking is so severe that this past fall, several dancers were held off the stage for the second performance. 

The exclusivity of the application process is another cause for concern. While TDC mandates that three members from each class year be included in each dance, this does not change the impression that it is a university-funded, exclusive social club in which choreographers for each dance decide who gains admittance.

While there may be value in having like-minded people in the same dance or in recruiting dancers who write funny responses to the application questions, that value seems dubious when the tradeoff is the exclusion and questioning of self-worth that goes along with rejection from a dance.

Unlike many other groups on campus, which accept members on the basis of talent in a certain area, rejection from TDC implies something negative about one’s social characteristics -- that their application wasn’t funny enough or that they did not know the choreographers well enough.

It is true that there are logistical constraints, and there is no way that TDC can accept all applicants. However, there should be a different basis for deciding who gets to participate.

Meanwhile, all of this comes at a cost to the student body. According to the budgets posted on the Tufts Community Union Senate’s website, TDC’s total budget is $13,912, larger than 85 percent of other funded clubs. The student body is paying $2,100 for pizza between shows, $800 for dancers' photos and over $1,800 for costumes.

Especially given its large budget and prioritization for funding, TDC can and should implement reforms to become a safer and more inclusive space on campus. These criticisms are not new; in fact, TDC reduced its number of participants in 2012 to address safety concerns. But the attempt at reform did not go far enough, as it did not deal with the underlying problem of excessive drinking and potentially exacerbated the issue of exclusivity by reducing the group's size.

There are two reforms that we believe would address the issues at hand far more effectively. The first is with regards to TDC's application process. Similar to the way Tufts Burlesque Troupe handles its applications, TDC could have sign-ups for particular dances on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

The second reform we propose is restructuring the schedule of the dances. To avoid the 'mid-game' and binge drinking that occurs between shows, TDC could host two shows, each on a different night. This idea has been suggested by a former member of TDC but has not been implemented. Splitting up the dances would also make clean-up easier for the Cohen Auditorium staff who have to deal with the messy aftermath from the mid-games.

We hope that TDC will consider these reforms, as every group on campus has an important role to play in making the Tufts community a welcoming and safe environment.