Kaplan, Miller, Infante win TCU Senate special election, fill remaining vacancies

First-years Jenna Kaplan and Valerie Infante and sophomore Max Miller were elected to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate following special elections originally planned to fill only two vacancies on Wednesday.

Elections Commission (ECOM)Chair Matt Zachem wrote in an email to the Daily earlyThursday morning that Jenna Kaplanreceived the most votes and was elected to fill one of the vacant TCU Senate seats. Infante and Miller, however, were tied in the race for the second seat.

About 10 hours later, Zachem, a sophomore, explained that an additional vacancy needed to be filled because TCU Senator for the Class of 2023 Sam Sadowski resigned. ECOM subsequently awarded seats to both Infante and Miller, filling the remaining vacancies.

Kaplan, Infante and Miller, the TCU Senate's newest members, defeated first-year Connolly Ferraro and sophomore Max Price. There were 397 unique voters who participated in the election, according to Zachem.

Price ran on a platform of increasing student government transparency and holding it more accountable to the student body. He emphasized that TCUSenate should be focused on issues Tufts students care about, such as housing costs.

ECOMreleased a statement at 6 p.m. following an exchange between Price and others on Facebook,affirming that no violation of election policy had been committed and reasserted that students should go out and vote.

“We are currently investigating the situation with administrators,” the statement read. “As of now, our Campaign Rules and Tufts Class-Year Group rules do not suggest that any violation has taken place, either by the student who has made the post or the candidate. This does not mean that we disapprove of or condone the comments, actions or behavior of any of the students who have been involved in this post and its associated comments.”

Ferraro ran on a simple platform of improving the experience of Tufts students and the variety of food options at late night dining, according to a statement on ECOM's website.

Kaplan, on the other hand, campaigned on a goal of ensuring food security and obtaining better funding for student organizations.

“[My first platform point] is opportunity and transparency in Tufts finances and the ability [for] students to get funding from TCU Senate to travel in Boston, in the U. S. and abroad to fulfill their academic and personal goals,” Kaplan said. “The second one is that of food security and accessibility, specifically reforming the meal swipe system.”

Miller ran on a platform of expanding course options that would facilitate the study of more cultures and protect student input during curricular review, according to a statement on ECOM's website.

Infante's platform rested upon improving student life at Tufts more broadly, which includes adding shuttle stops around campus, expanding free services such as feminine care products and adding Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run hours.