For Hadfield, a Second Chance

Last year, Tom D. Hadfield ’08 entered the Undergraduate Council race as the underdog. With considerably less name recognition than their opponents, Hadfield and presidential contender Magnus D. Grimeland ’07 snagged an unexpected second-place finish.

Now, with a year’s campaigning experience behind him, the 24-year-old British entrepreneur, along with running mate Adam Goldenberg ’08, has been projected as one of the election’s frontrunners from the start.

“We are going to run the best campaign in the history of student government,” Hadfield says, adding that he rallied together a campaign staff at the beginning of the year.

And if his meticulously organized campaign is any indication, Hadfield is determined to win.

Hadfield-Goldenberg supporters were the first to arrive in front of the Science Center to promote the ticket every day last week.

And Hadfield and running-mate Goldenberg estimate that they have campaigned for 16 hours each day and plan to knock on every undergraduate’s door by the close of the election Thursday.

“I am a slave driver,” says Hadfield’s campaign manager Katherine A. Beck ’08, who is also a Crimson business editor.

Hadfield jokes that Beck has coordinated the past several weeks of his life, even going so far as to check his e-mail.



‘A NEW WAY OF DOING BUSINESS’

Where Hadfield kicked off his vice-presidential bid with Grimeland with no council experience last year, he has acted as Eliot House UC representative since February.

Hadfield, who is also a Crimson editorial editor, spearheaded “Swipe for Darfur,” which allowed undergraduates to redirect Crimson Cash money to support African Union peacekeepers in Sudan. He also launched crimsonreading.org, a Web site which helps students find cheap textbooks.

But Hadfield’s entrepreneurial spirit began long before his aspirations for the UC presidency. At 17, he sold his Web site, soccernet.com, for around $40 million.

The 6’7” Goldenberg is better known for his bow ties than his UC membership, having just been elected as Winthrop House UC representative this semester. With no previous council experience, Goldenberg was elected vice-chair for residential life of the UC’s Student Advisory Committee. Goldenberg, who is also an active Crimson editorial editor, also serves as vice chair of the College Events Board.

While Goldenberg enters the race with a swath of experience with student-led initiatives, his membership in the all-male final club The Fox has drawn pointed questions at endorsement meetings throughout their campaign.

In the past, male final club members have fared poorly in UC presidential elections. Aaron S. Byrd ’05, Tracy “Ty” Moore II ’06, and John F. Voith III ’07 all had their presidential ambitions dashed by rivals who were not final club members.



ADVOCACY AND EFFICIENCY

Running under the slogan “A new way of doing business,” -he pair stresses the need for increased efficiency for the Council’s advocacy efforts.

“The UC needs to go beyond position papers and not just be a group of amateur lobbyists,” Goldenberg says.

During the townhall discussion hosted by the Harvard College Democrats, Hadfield said that he wanted to streamline the UC’s procedures and encourage more student activism.

Their campaign has stressed increasing the number of services the UC provides directly to students.

“By March, we will create a student endowment, have online coursepacks, and a new student web portal,” Hadfield says.

The duo says their top priority will be the student endowment, which will allow UC funding to reflect students’ priorities, Beck says.

“We need to be less dependent on the generosity of the administration,” Hadfield adds.

In last Thursday’s all-campus presidential debate, Hadfield touted his involvement in the Greenhouse Gas initiative, which calls on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to reduce its emissions.

Hadfield’s real world business experience and Goldenberg’s involvement in various aspects of student life outside of the UC will bring both originality and experience, they say.



OUTSIDE WITH THE IN CROWD

Goldenberg and Hadfield, who met through a mutual friend, started collaborating on UC initiatives last year, pushing to streamline the bylaws for UC grants and to open the grant process to all student groups.

“With new partnerships with student organizations, with less parliamentary procedures, the UC needs to encourage acting on progressive issues,” Hadfield said in the Dems’ endorsement debate last Wednesday.

And in a campaign season that boasts a slate of six tickets, the Hadfield-Goldenberg team is pushing for action.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Click here for the Hadfield-Goldenberg campaign video on HRTV.