Hey Jumbos, my name is Shriya and I’m a junior majoring in math. I would like to tell you why I am working on Joe Donenfeld’s campaign to be TCU Senate President. In high school, I was extremely enthusiastic about student government, but when I met with the Vice Principal with 20 ideas to improve the student body during my junior year and she shot down every one, I realized we had no power or influence. Coming to Tufts, I assumed the TCU Senate was the same way, so I didn’t run. I’m so glad I finally ran for Senate at the beginning of this semester, because now it is one of my favorite things about Tufts.
After joining Senate I worked on two committees: Education and Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs (CECA). I subsequently got to know both some of the most liberal and the most conservative students on Senate. It was clear that inside and outside of meetings there was a lot of tension both between senators and between the Senate and the wider student body. People who dissented from the prevailing opinion during a meeting felt marginalized, attacked or intimidated. The controversies and struggles inside Senate were largely isolated from the rest of the student body, so when we debated a resolution for 45 minutes or argued over giving a student group an extra $50, it felt like a big deal to us — but other people didn’t know about it. They picked up the Daily the day after and wondered how we made our decisions and what a resolution is.
All three candidates approached me and asked me to work on their campaigns. I took more than two weeks to choose one, because all three are great senators. But when I sat down with Joe Donenfeld, I knew that he was the most inclusive, understanding and open candidate of the three. After deliberating for so long it felt odd to be convinced so quickly, but it’s because I knew he was the right choice.
There are many troubling questions that the student body asks about Senate. Does it do anything? What happens during the meetings? If I go to one, will it be weird? Answering these is one of the driving forces of Joe Donenfeld’s candidacy. He wishes that the group could be more inclusive of the Tufts community: that we invite student organizations to meetings, that we don’t sit in our own circle and force non-Senators to sit outside of that circle, and that the Executive Board doesn’t sit at the front like royalty.
All of the candidates may say that they want Senate to look like this, but Joe Donenfeld is the one who is constantly connecting to students who aren’t interested in Senate and don’t realize how it impacts their everyday lives at Tufts. Joe Donenfeld can bring people together, listen to every side of an argument and keep a level head when others are spinning out of control. Early in my freshman year, I saw him walking around Hill Hall where we both lived, shaking people’s hands and introducing himself. The more I got to know him, the more I realized that he genuinely loves meeting people and getting to know their stories. This is a vital trait to have as the president of a student government organization.
Many of my friends were surprised at my choice. On Senate, one of the people I befriended early on was Christie, and she asked me to be on her campaign first. Additionally, because of my involvement in the Tufts Association of South Asians, the South Asian dance teams Tamasha and Pulse, and Over the Rainbow I think many other friends assumed I would be on Joe Thibodeau’s campaign. I want to reiterate that I think both of the other candidates are great senators and are active and important members of the Senate. I am honored to be a senator for the Class of 2014 alongside such great students. The thing is, we are not voting for a senator, we are voting for a president. A leader. It is because of this that I am so involved in Joe Donenfeld’s campaign.
While Joe Thibodeau has been advocating for social justice issues and is part of the activist community at Tufts, many students find this community alienating, exclusive and at times too radical. Joe Donenfeld will give a voice to all students on campus. When the extremely controversial CSL decision was brought to a Senate meeting in the form of a resolution asking President Monaco to overturn the CSL’s “justifiable departure” from the university’s nondiscrimination policy, both Joe Donenfeld and Joe Thibodeau were among the Senators who wrote the resolution. But only Joe Donenfeld was welcoming and non-judgemental enough that people from both sides of the issue approached him to discuss the decision.
Christie has been prolific in Services and as Treasurer, but she is disconnected from the rest of the Tufts student body. She is emphasizing that she worked on the student activities fee while she was Treasurer and ran community-wide events like the Cause dinner. Joe Donenfeld is working to cater to groups overlooked by Allocations Board in previous years, actively supporting Tier II Club Sports and others. Before, during and after his time as Historian and Student Outreach chair he ran the Leadership Dinner, tabled for Senate, held a meet-and-greet with administrators and more. Joe Donenfeld strikes a balance between outreach and action. He listens to others before asserting his own opinion. He brings people together instead of dividing them into isolated sides.
In addition to the emphasis on inclusion and transparency, another thing that really sets Joe Donenfeld’s campaign apart from the others is his focus on Tufts traditions and reforming the alcohol policy. Things like the terrible events at this year’s Winter Bash impact all of us, because an unsafe alcohol culture is what forces the administration to take away our traditions. It was upsetting for the Class of 2014 when at the end of our freshman year, as we transitioned from Bacow to Monaco, we found out that NQR would never happen again. It is even more upsetting that Fall Ball, Winter Bash and Spring Fling are now being called into question because our school encourages a drinking culture that happens behind closed doors by students who rarely realize how much danger they are putting themselves in. If you want Tufts to keep these events that bring the student body together, that we all look forward to, that enhance our college experience, know that Joe Donenfeld will make sure that they aren’t taken away from us. Joe D is the best person to have in the room to discuss these issues because he knows them inside and out.
I am supporting Joe Donenfeld for TCU Senate President because I know he will be a great leader for the organization and for the student body as a whole. I hope you will join me in voting for Joe D.
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Shriya Nevatia is a junior majoring in mathematics. She can be reached at Shriya.Nevatia@tufts.edu.
