Mystery Posters Target Chopra

Undergraduate Council presidential candidate Rohit Chopra ’04 last night found himself the target of pranksters.

Chopra and supporters found at least 40 posters in locations throughout the Yard and nearby buildings that made puns on his name and made light of his campaign.

Chopra said his campaign was not involved in creating and posting the signs. The posters, which were yellow with black lettering—the same colors as Chopra’s actual posters—came in three varieties.

“Rohit me baby one more time!” reads one, while another says, “Would whoever is writing Rohit everywhere please stop. Thanks, Rohit.” A third has a picture of a person rowing next to a picture of a face being punched—a rebus that clearly alludes to Chopra’s first name.

“We’re trying to run this in a professional way. We’re not running as a joke candidacy,” Chopra said. “‘Rohit me baby one more time’ doesn’t reinforce this.”

Chopra, who took down all those he found, said the signs were posted on Yard kiosks, on the dumpsters by Widener Library, over urinals in the Science Center and in other locations.

“Who knows where else they are,” he said. “I’m sure there are more of them.”

Nithin Shah ’04, after seeing the posters, said, “It’s so unfunny, it might be the Lampoon.”

Although Chopra said he turned about a dozen of the posters to the council’s Election Commission, it is uncertain whether the commission will be able to take action against whoever hung the posters.

The prank posters come after 22 of Chopra’s legitimate posters had been torn down from locations throughout the Yard yesterday morning, the candidate said.

“Every single postering rotation, it’s something new,” Chopra said.

Robert G. Bonstein ’04, who is supporting Chopra’s campaign, said he was perplexed by the posters.

“This isn’t even a threatening action. It’s just weird,” he said.

—Staff writer Alexander J. Blenkinsopp can be reached at blenkins@fas.harvard.edu.