Sophomore Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Chas Morrison aims to "put students first" if elected to the TCU presidency next week.
"I'm running for TCU president because I think all too often, the university, and even the TCU Senate, don't always prioritize all students, as they should," Morrison, a sophomore who has served on the TCU Senate for two years, told the Daily in an in-depth interview.
Morrison hopes to improve the quality of life at Tufts by giving students better access to existing university resources, working to make Tufts more affordable, and taking concrete actions to improve the student experience.
A key part of Morrison's platform to tangibly better students' time on the Hill is the expansion of on-campus wireless Internet access. Last year, Morrison co-authored a report looking at wireless Internet at Tufts and 35 other peer institutions.
According to Morrison, the report helped encourage the university to expand wireless Internet to Haskell Hall and West Hall. Leah McIntosh, the executive administrative dean for the School of Arts and Sciences, called it "one of the most convincing arguments for increased wireless that she had ever seen," Morrison said.
Morrison also hopes to make Tufts more affordable by increasing financial aid transparency so students get to better know financial aid officers. He also wants to create an overarching financial aid Web site that consolidates all of Tufts' online financial aid information into one location.
Additionally, the sophomore wants to improve textbook affordability, increase the amount of on-campus eateries that accept meals in addition to points, and foster a sense of tradition at the university.
To accomplish the latter, Morrison plans to bring back fall bonfires and an annual junior-senior tug-of-war game.
Morrison was one of five senators who voted against the Senate's allocation of $230,000 of recovered funds toward building a Trips Cabin alongside the Tufts Loj in New Hampshire.
"I think that the Trips Cabin is a great idea ... However, I didn't think this was a wise use of this money ... from the Student Activities Fee," Morrison said. "I think the purpose of the Student Activities Fee is to bring people together on campus."
With respect to improvement back on the Medford campus, Morrison would like to make the campus center "the heart of campus." One way he plans to do so is holding an extra Senior Pub Night in Hotung Café.
Morrison, an International Relations major from Weston, Conn., first got involved with student government his senior year of high school.
At Tufts, he serves as president of the newly formed Delta Tau Delta (DTD) colony, he co-founded of Tufts' nonpartisan political magazine, the Tufts Roundtable, and he is involved with the Institute for Global Leadership.
Morrison also teaches an Experimental College course on counterinsurgency.
"He gets things done, plain and simple," sophomore Eli Cushner, a DTD member, said.
This year, Morrison chaired the Senate's Administration and Policy Committee.
"We dealt with big-picture issues, such as community, [the Office of Residential Life and Learning], social life and public safety," Morrison said. "I gained a critical appreciation for the necessity of having multiple relationships with the administrators, while still being able to call them out when I thought that they weren't putting students first."
Morrison said that his current position as treasurer of Tufts Republicans has given him insight into how Senate allocations affect student groups.
"It's very easy to allocate money and lose touch with the reason why the money is there," he said. "The money is there for the people."
Morrison does not believe that his conservative political leanings will work against him in the election, saying that Tufts students respect people with political differences. In fact, many members of Tufts Democrats support him, according to the group's outgoing president, sophomore Doug Helman.
"As long as the TCU president isn't planning on invading Syria anytime soon," Morrison joked, "I don't think there's going to be any differences of opinion."
Freshman Tim Lesinski, a self-described liberal Democrat, is actively supporting Morrison. "I think he has some really good ideas for Tufts to go forward," he said.
Morrison supported the Senate's decision this month to eliminate ticket costs for certain on-campus events next year, a move he said "has a potential to revolutionize social life at Tufts."
Meanwhile, Morrison's opponents have said that his priorities are misaligned and that he does not fully understand the needs of the student body.
Senator and presidential candidate Brandon Rattiner, a junior, criticized Morrison's idea to bring a Senior Pub Night to campus. He said that Morrison is out of touch with this issue because he is only a sophomore.
Part of the fun of pub night, he added, is going into Boston.
Rattiner also said that Morrison has overplayed the amount of influence he has had on the expansion of wireless Internet access, adding that the decision is ultimately the administration's.
"It's silly to label wireless Internet as his project," Rattiner said.
Senator and presidential candidate Samia Zahran said that Morrison has trouble relating to other students.
"I feel that I relate better than Chas does," Zahran, a sophomore, said. "I think he lacks the ability to communicate with other students."
But some students have said that Morrison's efforts to reach out to the student body have inspired confidence in him.
"There's no reason I don't support Brandon and Samia," said sophomore Jonathan Lautin, a member of Tufts Mock Trial. "But we appreciate that Chas took the initiative to come and talk to our group, and that's why I'm supporting him."
