The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's current deliberation over amending the role and rights of community representatives in the Senate is a much-needed reassessment of the system currently in place to give minority groups a proper voice on campus.
The TCU Diversity Task Force, commissioned by TCU President Brandon Rattiner, has formed a proposal that would allow community representatives to elect a current senator as Director of Community Affairs (DCA). The DCA would represent the community representatives in fiscal matters raised in the Senate, while the community representatives themselves would continue to have a vote on every issue except matters regarding allocation of TCU funds. With this proposal, community representatives would be elected by their respective culture centers and student organizations. The DCA would be elected by the community representatives themselves.
Those who took issue with this proposal have formed the Community Empowerment and Equality Model (CEE) as an alternative proposal to that of the Diversity Task Force. Proponents of this model argue that a single representative of the community representatives — the DCA — is not sufficient to encompass the inevitably diverse opinions of the four different minority groups that currently have community representatives.
However, the CEE's objections to the Diversity Task Force's proposal do not consider a broader role for the DCA. The voice of minority students at Tufts would, in fact, be more thoroughly represented by the DCA, who would not be limited to representing the community representatives, but would represent all minority groups on campus. Thus the DCA would have a more holistic perspective on minority needs and issues on campus. The DCA's responsibilities would include managing outreach to minority communities and educating the Senate on diversity issues. Therefore he or she could connect to the communities and be more flexible than someone serving only to represent his or her own group.
While it may seem like the ideal situation would be for each minority group on campus to have voting rights on every Senate decision — including fiscal ones — it is simply not realistic. There are currently four minority groups with community representatives, but if this number expands, the percentage of minority representation would become disproportionate, and the Senate as a body representative of all students would lose much of its function. Opening the doors for all community representatives to have votes on financial issues could raise problems if the number of community representatives increased so that they had disproportionate votes.
As there are currently only four groups represented, the prospect of more minority groups petitioning to have community representatives in TCU Senate is exciting, as it would mean greater representation for all minority groups and not just the four that currently have representatives. However, if community representatives' numbers are going to grow, it is logical that the Senate find a way to appoint one person to represent them and address all of their needs to avoid the potential for disproportionate representation in the Senate.
If many other minority groups had representatives, those without representatives simply would not have a voice in Senate. While the Daily recognizes that any group can apply to have a community representative in Senate, it is not practical to assume that all minority groups will have a representative in the near future. Therefore, the proposal adopted should be the one that creates a position for the DCA in which he or she can be effective in representing all minority groups. The Task Force's proposal is considerate of the fairest way to represent minorities in the Senate and ensure that their opinions are heard when voting on financial issues.
