HC Tufts got the chance to interview Andrew Núñez – a fun loving leader here at Tufts! Check out what he has to say about TCU Senate this year:
Name: Andrew Núñez
Year: 2015
Major: International Relations and American Studies
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Have you always been involved student government organizations?
No, I first got involved with Senate when I arrived at Tufts. It was something that I had never done in High School but I was always interested in. I was extremely nervous to put myself out there not knowing the majority of students on campus and I probably wouldn’t have even run if I didn’t get a pep talk from my FOCUS mom, Alice Pang who had been on senate for the previous 2 years.
How/why did you get involved in them?
At first I just wanted to be involved in senate because I thought it would be a good way to just stay informed with issues on campus and try to make a small difference. The reason I ran for re-election and continue to stay on Senate is because I believe it is one of the best platforms to get the most amount of change done. In my experience administrators really value the student perspective and respect what we do for the larger tufts community.
What is your position on Senate and what are your duties?
I am the TCU Historian and co-chair of the Student Outreach Committee. As the TCU Historian I record attendance and minutes at our weekly meetings as well as act as a press liaison. As co-chair of the Student Outreach Committee my job is simply just to connect students to their student government. Student Outreach is probably the most fun of all the committees because we really try and do things that students can really appreciate. For instance, last year we brought a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream truck that gave out free ice cream to anyone who wrote down a problem they had with Tufts on an index card. This year we are collecting all of that information and shaping our projects based on that student input.
What is your favorite part about being on Senate?
I think that some people have really bad opinions of the people on Senate in general but I can say that the 35 of us all volunteer at least for 4 hours each week (some of us over 10 hours a week) with the sole purpose of improving our campus for ourselves and for future Jumbos. Just seeing all the projects that people continue to accomplish keeps pushing me forward and motivates me to get my projects done.
What are some of your personal goals for Senate this year?
I am trying to redefine the role of what the Historian is and make Senate more accessible to groups of students who wouldn’t normally use it as a resource. A personal project of mine would be establishing a student bill of rights. This was an idea first proposed by Wyatt Cadley in the presidential campaign. It would vastly improve the academic experience for students. The five points that all should be entitled to are:
1. Feedback on how you’re doing in your classes prior to the drop deadline
2. Access to online syllabi a month before a course begins (that way you can buy your books earlier and cheaper)
3. Access to professors’ course ratings via a private online database
4. Feedback on every assignment, even final exams (all departments should standardize how students pick up their final exams the next semester)
5. Access to their final grades on time (no more uploading SIS every hour)
What is your favorite thing about Tufts?
My friends here. Everyone of them lived such a different life and always give me a new perspective to look at things. When you’re in college friends become your family and always keep you grounded.
Describe the life of Andrew Núñez in three words:
bold. bright. bootylicious. (also my campaign slogan from Freshman Year!)