Quincy Duo Will Resign in Protest

Matthew H Espy ’03 and running mate Daryk A. Pengelly ’03 are the only candidates in this year’s Undergraduate Council (UC) presidential election who do not want the job.

In fact, Espy claims that if elected, he will resign.

So why are these roommates who, according to their answering machine, occupy the “penthouse suite at the Four Seasons Hotel,” bothering to go through with a campaign they do not want to win?

“I am using the UC election and the publicity that surrounds it for my own agenda,” Espy says.

Espy’s “agenda” consists of only two points: he is calling for cable TV in all student rooms and the construction of a student center.

“My campaign focuses on the need for a student center and cable [television] at Harvard. Any other issues are peripheral to the purpose of me running and will not be considered or discussed,” Espy says.

But he stresses that he is not a “joke” candidate.

“These issues are as serious as any because Harvard is in serious need of a better social atmosphere,” Espy says.

“I am not a big fan of the core or the advising system here, but the biggest deficiency I see at Harvard is the lack of space for students to socialize.”

A New Face to an Old Issue

While both Espy and Pengelly both say they have no interest in the council, they maintain that running for president and vice-president is the crucial next step in their mission to improve Harvard social life, following on several failed attempts in the past.

Espy, who was a Quincy representative to the council last year, said that Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth ’71 came to discuss the issue of a student center at a council meeting but that no progress was ever made.

“When people at Harvard say they are looking into something, it usually means nothing is going to happen,” he says.

So now Espy is trying a new approach. He and Pengelly plan to attend President Lawrence H. Summers’ office hours next month, and they hope to go backed by the support of all the students who voted for them.

“Imagine the scenario that we get elected. The administration would be forced to respond,” Pengelly says.

Pengelly and Espy says they have given a lot of thought to the logistics of building a new student center.

“I think that the area behind Sever, between Emerson and Robinson, would be good,” Espy said stressing the importance of the building being in a central location. “But personally, I do not see why they can’t move out of University Hall.”

And Espy also says that he sees the logistics behind wiring all house rooms for cable as straightforward.

“If they wired all the rooms for Ethernet, it can’t be that hard to do the same for cable,” he says.

Espy says he believes that cable television could have functions at Harvard beyond just entertainment value, such as a channel devoted to featuring student performances and projects.

“Some people never get to see some groups perform and a student TV channel could solve this problem,” Espy says.

Espy and Pengelly say they are convinced that the issues of their platform can easily be accomplished.

“We have talked to a lot people who assure us that these things are possible,” Pengelly said.

The Men Behind the Fun

While some voters may not take the Espy/Pengelly ticket seriously, both candidates say they are capable of running Harvard’s student government.

“Both Matt and I are natural leaders and would be capable of leading the UC if we wanted to,” Pengelly said.

Despite the fact that Espy currently has no wish to lead or be associated with the council, he did serve as a representative last year. With the same platform he is running on in this election—cable television and a student center—he was elected with nine votes.

“The UC was a lot more political than I would have liked and essentially every bill that went up was adopted” Espy says, explaining why he chose not to run again this year.

Espy is the president of the Harvard Investment Club, which he cites as his only official endorsement.

In addition, he spends a few hours a week tutoring through the Bureau of Study Counsel and tutors middle school math students for math competitions.

An advanced standing senior applied math concentrator, Espy says he has taken five classes a semester since he arrived at Harvard from Chamblee High School in Decatur, Georgia.

But he says despite these academic commitments, he still has time to want a better social life at Harvard.

“All these things do not take up that much time, and that is why there is a need for a better social life at Harvard,” Espy says.

Pengelly, who agreed to run with Espy earlier this year to “complete the ticket,” is a social studies concentrator who has assumed several leadership roles at Harvard.

He says he spends more than 20 hours a week as manager of Harvard Graphic Design Services at the Harvard Student Agencies where he recently organized a graphic design competition so that students can design free logos for non-profit companies.

Pengelly is also an active member of the Harvard Concert Commission, a group that recently brought the band Dispatch to campus.

Based on their qualifications and platform Pengelly says he thinks “it is very possible that we could be elected,” although he echoes Espy’s sentiment that neither wants to do the job.

Off to a Slow Start

Espy and Pengelly have not been campaigning as hard as the other candidates.

“Frankly, the people who are voting for us need to be reminded when elections are so we will concentrate our efforts on telling them to vote for us when they can,” Espy says.

The candidates have been passing out handbills and attended last week’s debate where Espy reiterated that “A vote for my ticket is not a vote for me, it is a vote for cable TV and a student center.”

In addition, the candidates plan on performing a skit at Monday afternoon’s debate in which they will attempt to get across what the social life at Harvard has become.

“We will probably plug in a TV and show lots of static and have kids playing four-square to show what students have had to resort to,” Espy said.

But while Espy himself has not focused on campaigning, he expresses surprise that the other candidates haven’t seemed to either.

“While I think either of the other tickets will do a fantastic job, I am surprised they haven’t been more actively campaigning,” Espy says.

But Espy says he is confident that once people understand what he is trying to do, getting their votes will be easy.

“The way that the voting is set up, you can vote for me and the candidates that you really want to win without hurting their chances,” Espy said.

And to those who still doubt their seriousness, Pengelly says, “Matt may have a sense of humor, but he is very serious and is not going to waste time on anything that he is not passionate about.”

—Staff writer Jessica E. Vascellaro can be reached at vascell@fas.harvard.edu.