Profile: From Red to Crimson

Name: John "Warchild" Appelbaum '97

Home: Cabot House and Vero Bech, Florida. Before that, Siberia.

Why February 28 is significant: Four years ago on that date I came to the United States. I consider that to be one of the brightest days of my life. I always celebrate that day and sort of consider it my second birthday.

What Siberia is like: The general American stereotype about Siberia is basically true. It's cold, it's ugly, it's miserable. I lived in a big city called Novosivirsk. It was a big industrial wasteland.

What growing up in Russia was like: You basically joined a street gang, or tried to avoid them as much as possible. I didn't belong to one so I had to look out for myself. From the time I was 12 years old I carried a chain with me.

Whether Russia was really "The Evil Empire": Ronald Reagan is about as popular as the plague on this campus, but I think he was right on that account. Anything that could give you sort of a stronghold against the overwhelming power of the state was banned. And that included free thinking and reading foreign books.

What is similar between Russia and Harvard: When I was in the Soviet Union certain ideas were censured. If you professed certain ideas you wouldn't be allowed to speak of them. It's sad to say that at Harvard, some ideas, especially so called conservative ideas, are not welcome.

Whether Marxism should be taught at Harvard: People who honestly believe in Marxism should have their heads examined. Or they should visit the former Soviet Union, because that was a country based on Marxist principles.

On taking a course which discusses Marxism: I decided to take History 10b last year, and Marxism was on the syllabus. The first day of the course featured a discussion of depiction of genitalia in Western culture. I dropped the course.

How he dealt with his lack of knowledge of American culture: I started listening to the radio all the time, and watching a lot of TV. TV helped me with my language.

Whether he's learned more from TV than from Harvard: Yeah, so far. I did learn some valuable things at Harvard, but you can't beat Beavis and Butthead. Missing the Brady Bunch episodes was missing an important part of my experience as a kid.

How he got into surfing: I rented "Point Break," and the whole idea of surfing just seemed immensely cool to me. Especially for someone who grew up surrounded by ice and snow and bears. I'm not very good yet, but I'm trying. I think its a great way to get in touch with the ocean. I don't buy into all that spiritual crap; surfing is just a radical thing to do.

Whether there is surfing in Siberia: Unless you did it in the bathtub, no.

How he would describe Nirvana's music: Rocking. Awesome. Radical.

What his view on Cobain's death is: I think that's very sad. He was a great poet and I had a lot of respect for him.

Who his favorite living celebrity is: Ronald Reagan. I think he had values, I think he had real principles. I think his vision of what America should be like--strong, prosperous, and free--coincides with mine.

How he reconciles liking Nirvana and Ronald Reagan: I enjoy listening to [Nirvana's] songs. I think people like Kurt Cobain are very talented, and I have a lot of respect for them. But that doesn't mean that they dictate my political views.

Whether Kurt Cobain killed himself because people like John Appelbaum liked his music: No. I think he killed himself because he took too many drugs.