Dear Editor,
It was two nights ago that Tufts Community Union Elections Commission (ECOM) revealed itself as an aggressive, exclusive and thoughtless collection of students condescendingly disinterested in the content of Tufts' political system and the potential of systematic reformation through the ideas of engaged and motivated peers.
Candidates for the TCU Judiciary and the Committee on Student Life (CSL) gathered to articulate their opinions and expectations for their respective potential positions.
Unfortunately, the debate was rather littered with humorless sarcastic questions, insulting disregard for current on-campus political conversations and pithy condescension to frivolous questions including "ice cream toppings" and "gorillas or guerrillas."
Any attempt to digress from this frivolity, as CSL candidate Walker Bristol displayed in his extended description of Tufts' predominately white history and racial injustices, went either completely ignored or used as ammunition to later aggressively force candidates to respond to prompted questions, substantive or not, before being allowed to answer following questions or concluding remarks.
Wholly, the tone of the debate was one littered with a forceful attitude from a Committee who seemed unreceptive to constructive dialogue and unintelligible in their intention.
As an audience member and social justice activist, I would have preferred an outline of questions that prompted analysis of current community flaws, proposals for policy resolution and professionalized respect that warrants professionalized response.
The behavior and presentation of ECOM during this debate proves only an unconsciousness towards and thus perpetuation of discriminatory, harmful and disrespectful policy that has burdened our institution.
One can hope only that students will vote in favor for a community of representatives that will digress from thoughtless promptings, and pursue a critical yet substantial lens of how we students can and ought to reform a culture of ignorance.
Sincerely,
Katrina Dzyak
Class of 2016
