Editor’s Note: Defne Olgun is a staff writer and Gunnar Ivarsson is an Ethics and Inclusion Committee Chair for the Daily. They were not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
On April 9, the Tufts Community Union Senate Elections Commission hosted their annual meet-and-greet event with candidates running for seats on the Senate, the Judiciary and the Committee on Student Life. The event offered Tufts students the opportunity to speak with candidates prior to TCU elections, which are occurring from April 10 to Saturday at noon.
While this event is mandatory in the ECOM bylaws, junior Lucas O’Neil, ECOM chair, hopes it also increases voter turnout for this year’s election.
“Events like this really help, getting the word out,” O’Neil said. “The biggest thing is just getting the word out there that it’s happening.”
ECOM is working to counteract regularly low voter turnout for TCU elections through other methods as well.
“It’s usually like 1,000 to 1,500 people per election, which is admittedly not amazing,” O’Neil said. “We have an ice cream truck coming [Thursday] at noon for people who voted, just to get free ice cream, just to get the word out.”
As for the meet-and-greet itself, O’Neil saw candidates focusing on transparency, accessible late night food options and more.
“I’ve seen a trend of a lot of transparency, in terms of where our tuition money is going towards, particularly in dining,” O’Neil said.
Shefali Bakre, a current 2028 senator running for re-election, addressed how she has been fighting to address the lack of late night food options on campus, especially in residence halls.
“There was no vending machine in Metcalf, and a lot of students were complaining about that because they weren’t able to access food late at night,” she said. “This issue was brought up so many times, and no one was able to fix it until I came into the picture and I contacted Residential Life, and I was able to meet up with them, get a contractor in there and install a vending machine.”
Defne Olgun, trustee representative for Administration and Finance, is running for Class of 2027 senator. She has also been working to address the lack of accessible food on campus at night.
“At the end of last semester, I was part of hosting these Late Night Study and Snacks, so students come into the dining halls from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and get some snacks, and just have an extra space to study that wasn’t Tisch,” Olgun said.
Ashley Zhang, who is rerunning for Class of 2028 senator, also voiced an effort to be more transparent, though Zhang focused on her effort to be more transparent about how the Senate is supporting students.
“I also started a weekly newsletter to send out to the student body about what we were doing on the Senate and work on the social media so there’s greater transparency,” Zhang said. “That was also important to me for our class to see what we’re doing behind the scenes and know what’s happening.”
Grant Pinsley, running for Class of 2028, bridged together the issues of university transparency with addressing student needs.
“I think anything that can save people a dollar is important, whether that’s laundry, printing or anything — I think that’s something to really consider,” Pinsley said. “Maybe just having laundry that costs as much for the student as it costs for the university.”
Eraste Talla Ngoualadjo, a 2026 senator seeking reelection, is also focused on how to best support students, though he is specifically hoping to support the transfer student community, who are not guaranteed student housing.
“I’m looking into housing for transfer students,” Talla Ngoualadjo said. “We shouldn’t neglect our most vulnerable population on campus.”
In the realm of supporting students, Nathaniel Kennedy, who is a Class of 2026 senator running for reelection, wants to create more resources for international students. One such resource would aim to educate international students to know their rights.
“Essentially, [in the] present political climate, publicizing these are your rights, what you can do, this is how the university can get involved if you have to deal with [Immigration Customs and Enforcement],” Kennedy said. “I think that does matter a lot.”
Gunnar Ivarsson, a Class of 2028 senator seeking reelection, emphasized the importance of listening to every community member’s opinion when it comes to administrative efforts such as institutional neutrality.
“I certainly know that what’s communicated to me is really all over the board in terms of administration and political neutrality,” Ivarsson said. “So it’s just ensuring that we understand every perspective.”
Anahat Bawa, who is running uncontested for women’s community senator, also spoke about the importance of making sure everyone feels heard.
“I think we all are really passionate about our beliefs, and if we can make it so that it’s even more comfortable for people to speak on the things that they believe in, especially after Rümeysa Öztürk’s [detainment], I think it’s even more important that we cultivate that comfort within the environment,” Bawa said.
