Freeland Elected to USenate

And then there were two.

Billy Freeland, CC ’09, was voted in as a temporary University senator by the Columbia College Student Council on Sunday, after a night of winnowing down possibilities to replace former Senator Tiffany Dockery, CC ’09. Freeland was elected with 20 votes in a run-off election against first-year Alex Frouman, who received eight.

The senate selection comes after Dockery, whose poor attendance had been called into question by the Student Affairs Caucus, resigned in December. While no formal vote had been taken at the time of her resignation, the SAC had discussed the possibility of impeaching Dockery.

The senator appointment process, especially one that takes place after first-year elections, is essentially an exercise in whittling. Nominations are open to all students and it’s up to the council to narrow the possibilities down via statements, interviews, and deliberations.

As the pool of candidates shrunk over the course of a weekend from seven to five to two, from candidates representing a cross-section of classes to a race noticeably dominated by seniors, the question of the hour—how to best fill a one-semester seat for a typically slow-moving body—could be seen in its two distinct finalists: Freeland, a second-semester senior who lost a previous senate bid by eight votes, and Frouman, a first year who dived into council policy.

While CCSC ousted the candidates to discuss the race before their interviews, University Senator Rishika Samant, CC ’09, whose seat will be up for election in the spring, underlined that the decision would not be one based on academic year. However, fellow University Senator Monica Quaintance, CC ’10, who has one more year in her senate term, expressed interest in a candidate who provided long-term collaborative possibilities, and “not somebody who’s just going to graduate and go away.” Still, others said they felt seniority should still be considered—especially for candidates with institutional knowledge looking at their last opportunity to serve on the Senate before graduation.

But for Frouman, who has worked on the CCSC policy committee for the past semester, his first-year standing proved to be more of an asset than a hindrance. As a first year, Frouman would face a future of collaboration with the council, and would be an incumbent in the spring elections when his seat expires. With a newcomer on whom the council could, as president George Krebs put it, “stamp ethos,” the appointment process became, in part, a matter of weighing experience against potential.

How Freeland will fare remains to be seen. As a second semester senior in the five-year SIPA program, Freeland’s one semester as Senator will be his only chance to serve in the University Senate, an institution notoriously overburdened by red tape and bureaucracy. Freeland’s plan is to focus on a more narrow scope of initiatives and hone in on the technical facets of campus: more consistent syllabi posting and improving the availability of course materials online. He said he also hopes to give students a greater voice on the library committee.

“I think you have to be very focused in what you want to achieve,” Freeland said. “You can’t have a laundry list of proposals.”

Freeland has also served on SIPA’s committee for Manhattanville, and expressed interest in following the campus space concerns that will follow during and after his tenure as senator. After he learned of his victory, he was quick to ask Council members when he could begin working on that issue.

“What I hope to do is carry that enthusiasm I had during my campaign to my work in the Senate,” Freeland said.

Before they were selected as the two finalists, Freeland and Frouman were joined on Sunday at the meeting in Lerner’s Satow Room by seniors Dov Friedman, Matt Heiman, and Michael Marion.

Candidates Isaac Lara, CC ’11. and Kate Redburn, CC ’10, withdrew from the race before the Sunday evening interviews.