STUDENT GOVERNMENT. The first recorded mention of student government at Tufts was in 1900, when the faculty considered (and rejected) the proposal of a plan (not identified) similar to that existing at Bowdoin College. The first organization identified as a student council was organized by President Frederick W. Hamilton in September 1909. It was intended to bring the trustees and faculty "into closer connection with the students." The group consisted of fourteen men representing the various organizations and classes, who at their first meeting discussed such matters as getting "the scholastic support of the athletes by the non-athletic element"; recent fires in West Hall; and a substitute for the traditional freshman-sophomore "rushes" which endangered "to too great an extent the lives and limbs of the participants." The group met monthly, with the president presiding. The council had no legislative or executive powers but met for informal discussion of campus affairs. This organization was replaced in 1918 by a College Council of twenty-four students and nine faculty which was to act in an advisory capacity and "serve as a means of communication between student opinion and the faculty." This group was, in turn, replaced in the spring of 1924 by a student council organized along lines familiar to a later day. It had a constitution and was to coordinate "the various lines of extracurricular life now in existence" with a student board of control. Faculty advice was sought, and the organization had final authority "to act in the best interests of the college." Dean George S. Miller was the faculty adviser until World War II. Among the council's functions were the identification and enforcement of freshmen traditions, the elimination of hazing, supervision of elections to class societies, recognition of new student organizations, and the elimination of the use of intoxicating beverages. There were thirty-six different student organizations by 1940.

During World War II the council sponsored various speakers, organized first-aid courses, and conducted Red Cross drives. In the early 1950s the group was involved in the organization of a radio station and the raising of money for band uniforms as well as the reinstitution of freshmen traditions and the reactivation of student honorary societies and other activities and organizations which had

The advisability of establishing an honor system of some kind had been discussed off and on since 1907, but no official statement had been adopted until an "honesty policy" was promulgated in 1939. At the time it was determined that faculty were to proctor their own examinations, and that all cases of dishonesty, including penalties, were to be handled by the appropriate dean. Several student referenda were held in the 1950S on the adoption of an honor system, but they were narrowly defeated in every instance. Instead, an "honesty policy" was continued, and was published in pamphlet form in 1957. The student council requested in 1964 that an honor system be tried experimentally and that faculty proctoring be abolished, but no action was taken. During the late 1950s all cases involving academic dishonesty were handled by an all-faculty Committee on Student Organizations which later evolved into the faculty-student Committee on Student Life.

The base of the student council was broadened in 1953 to make it more representative of the student body, including Jackson College, with direct election. A revised constitution was adopted in 1956 and was further revised in 1960. Adopting (and revising) constitutions was a popular indoor sport throughout the history of the student council and thereafter. The council consisted of nineteen individuals in 1959-60, including representatives from the affiliated schools. The administration, the Tufts Weekly, and the radio station (WTCR) were given non-voting representation.

The student council constitution was revised in September 1962 and provided for fifteen representatives from liberal arts and engineering and six representatives from Jackson College, including one from its student council. There were either one or two representatives from each of the affiliated schools, and commuting students were also represented. Non-voting representation was provided from the

The council had significantly increased its participation in campus affairs by the early 1960s, including the offering of advice on preparation of the academic calendar and the preparation of course evaluation booklets. The most important project in 1964 was an effort to remove discriminatory clauses in fraternity and sorority charters and constitutions. The student council assumed one of its most important responsibilities when a financial commission was established in 1967. Its task was to allocate and administer what then amounted to some $90,000 for student organizations, $60,000 of which came from university funds and $30,000 from the student activity fee.

Student government came virtually to a halt for an entire semester in 1965 while a constitutional convention was being held, but after all the time and energy expended, the students failed to adopt a new charter. Turmoil over student participation in university governance in the 1960s and in how to make student government more responsive to the student body resulted in a vote by the student council to terminate its own existence. It was succeeded by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) in 1968, which in turn went through a period of instability lasting more than a year.

The original draft of a constitution for the newly organized student governing body was prepared in the fall of 1968 and was revised several times. A five-person board was first established and was later enlarged to nine. Numerous structural flaws were soon discovered, and resulted in a series of constitutional changes. A revised document was ratified in 1972 which provided that the Union was to consist of all undergraduate students at the university who paid the student activities fee. The central governing body was a senate, consisting of thirty-five students elected campus-wide, twenty-five of whom were to be elected at large, together with three members from each class. By an amendment in 1977, at least two seats were guaranteed to commuting students.

The four principal functions of the TCU senate were to "provide a forum for discussion of any and all student concerns"; to coordinate all student activities relating to those faculty committees to which students had been admitted in 1968; to act as a "lobby" for student interests; and to oversee the allocation of the student activity fund, which by then comprised a substantial amount.

The status and role of student government had changed radically at Tufts since President Hamilton's day, when he presided in paternalistic fashion over a small and deferential student body with no self-governing responsibilities at all. By the 197os an active student government was seeking ways to increase and strengthen its participation in educational policy-making. Students attended faculty meetings and obtained voting rights as well as membership on numerous faculty committees. They administered thousands of dollars in student funds and were insisting on a decisive role in shaping curriculum, setting budgetary priorities, and in evaluating faculty performance. There were even student observers and participants on trustee committees. Although they had not carried the principle of "participatory democracy" to the extremes demanded in the 196os, students had obtained, usually by peaceful means, goals and aspirations which had not even been dreamed of in an earlier day.