Henry Quillen

Henry C. Quillen '00

Two years ago he ran for president of the Undergraduate Council wearing a mask. Today he comes out.

Henry C. Quillen '00 actually had a platform in his bizarre bid for Undergraduate Council president--greater accountability for council representatives to their constituents.

His stances on his issues may have been attractive on their own merit, but an idea Quillen had conceived the previous summer just wouldn't go away.

"A friend and I were talking about how it would be kind of funny if someone ran for UC president in a mask," he recalls. "I thought it was a pretty fun and benign way to poke fun at the UC."

So Quillen donned the mask popularized by the movie "Scream"--and wouldn't take it off for most of his public appearances during the campaign. When his picture and platform appeared in a Crimson article profiling the council candidates that year, Quillen's mask is all voters saw of their potential president.

Quillen had never served on the council; like most outsider candidates, he realized his chances of victory were slim.

"We weren't expecting to win by any means, but last place was a bit of a disappointment," he says. "Without the mask, I probably would have finished a little better, but still not have won. I'm glad I went with that instead of a completely serious campaign.

"I think my 15 minutes came and went," he laments. "Part of it is that a lot of people don't know what I look like because I ran with the mask."

At the same time, Quillen thinks his message may have endured, as council representatives he has spoken with have noted increased adherence to bylaw accountability standards. He remained "non-partisan" in this year's controversial council election and aftermath.

Next year Quillen will be consulting for Bain and Co. in Atlanta--without the mask.