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THE TUFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXV, NUMBER 17
TUFTSDAILY.COM
Friday, February 15, 2013
On Valentine’s Day, raising awareness with Broken Hearts
Tufts Democrats, Carl Sciortino endorse Markey in Senate race by Justin
Rheingold
Daily Editorial Board
Lee Wan Jing for the Tufts Daily
The Tufts chapter of Love146 last night held its second annual Broken Hearts event to raise awareness about child sex trafficking and exploitation. The event took place in Sophia Gordon Hall and featured music and poetry performances by students.
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
The Tufts Democrats recently announced its endorsement of Congressman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who is running in a special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat of former Senator John Kerry, the new Secretary of State. Tufts alumnus Carl Sciortino (LA ‘00), the state representative for the 34th Middlesex District encompassing Medford and Somerville, declared on Feb. 8 his candidacy for Markey’s current position with the Fifth Congressional District. At their weekly meeting on Feb. 5, Tufts Democrats reviewed the viewpoints of Markey and Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), the two Democrats who have formally announced their candidacy to be the democratic representative on the ticket, according to Bronwen Raff, president of Tufts Democrats. The group members then voted to endorse Markey. Raff, a senior, said she and the organization’s members are currently working to gather signatures and support for Markey’s primary campaign. “Our first deadline is Feb.
28 when all 10,000 signatures need to be certified so we’re trying to help in the process of collecting about 20,000 signatures,” she said. According to Raff, one of the primary goals of the Tufts Democrats will be to get students out to vote. “We understand that many students aren’t going to be here in June [for the general election],” Raff said. “What we need to do beyond that is to put together a protocol for how we want to do absentee voting.” Raff plans for the organization to be active around campus in the coming months, as its members hope to increase awareness of the special election. “We’ll be tabling in the dining halls [and] we’ll be working with Tufts Votes and the Institute for Political Citizenship,” she said. “The biggest problem is that people don’t know that the election is happening and so we’re sort of trying to just use social media to make sure people are aware of what’s going on and to educate them.” Should Markey be elected to the U.S. Senate in late June, he would resign from the U.S. see DEMOCRATS, page 2
Senate, historically and now, falls short on gender diversity by
Lily Sieradzki
Daily Editorial Board
When Tufts Community Union (TCU) senator Christie Maciejewski last year served as TCU Treasurer at the head of the Senate’s Allocations Board, or ALBO, the budgeting committee had so many male members it was commonly referred to as “all-bro.” Over multiple semesters on a Senate designed to “represent the interests and desires of the TCU to the faculty, administration and the Trustees of Tufts University,” Maciejewski had moved up in the ranks of Senate that is now, and has historically been, a male-dominated body. The imbalance has been noted by senators both male and female, and all agree that the dearth of women representatives to the body is significant. TCU Vice President Meredith Goldberg, a senior, said she has taken note of the low numbers of women on the Senate throughout her time there. “In a school where we’re not a minority by any means, the fact that we are underrepresented says something,” she said. The number of women on the body varies from year to year. TCU President Wyatt Cadley, a senior, attributed this pattern to fluctuations in voting trends, saying that women tend to be elected in contested elections while men tend to walk on in uncontested elections. He cited last year’s Senate class of 2012 of ten male senators who ran uncontested. “I think it’s that voters tend to recognize that women tend to be underrepresented, and in turn when they’re presented with a choice, they do tend to vote for the woman
candidate,” Cadley said. Even within the Senate, leadership roles have tended to be filled almost exclusively by male students. “A lot of people think that Treasurer is a boy thing, money is a boy thing,” Maciejewski said. “But I was the one who wanted it most ... and [I] got it,” she said. Having a place among the boys wasn’t always comfortable, Maciejewski said. “I was later told that [the TCU president] didn’t necessarily trust a younger woman in the office, but I think I proved myself competent ... I don’t think every woman would have enjoyed the position I was in.” Goldberg said the Senate has a long way to go to equalize the gender balance on the body. She is currently the only woman on the Executive Board of seven senators, compared with a mostly even split between men and women on Executive Board in 2009-2010. “Senate is a body that’s supposed to be approachable to any member of the community,” Goldberg said. “I think its difficult when you walk into an exec meeting [when] I’m not there and it’s just all these men in a room ... it feels like we’re back to the 1950’s sometimes.” The male-heavy results of the 2011-2012 Senate elections could be attributed to the large number of uncontested elections, Cadley said. This year’s body, however, displayed a noticeable shift towards greater female representation on the body. In last week’s elections to fill four seats, two women were elected to junior and senior Senate seat, bringing the total number of female senators on the body to 14 women of 36 total senators. “When I look at the freshman and sopho-
Inside this issue
Virginia Bledsoe / The Tufts Daily
The TCU Senate, a historically male-dominated body, seeks to improve a gender imbalance. more classes, they really have become more of women may not want to take that lead.” diverse,” Goldberg said. “Senate is becoming Goldberg agreed, adding that she might more the voice of the students, we’re moving have been more apprehensive of seeking a higher office if she were to run today. in that direction.” Maciejewski found that low numbers of “If I was a freshman this year and I looked women in leadership roles has the effect of at the [Executive Board], I’d be like, ‘there’s one discouraging younger women in Senate from woman on it?’ [and] I’d think, ‘well maybe this is not where I’ll end up,’” she said. stepping up. “I think one thing that would make women Maciejewski agreed that it is easier for a lot more comfortable is having more women men to gain and hold leadership positions. in leadership roles, in front of the room,” “I think a woman has to be exceptionally Maciejewski said. “I think because there [are] see GENDER page 2 men at the head of Senate, it’s harder — a lot
Today’s sections
“Beautiful Creatures” revives the trend of paranormal tean romance movies.
Tufts’ No. 1-seeded women’s basketball team readies for the NESCAC playoffs.
see ARTS, page 3
see SPORTS, back
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