Frosh Pitch UC Bids Via Internet

While Sen. John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin has gained publicity for her notoriety on Internet blogs, in addition to her political positions, the 48 freshmen running for the eight seats on the Undergraduate Council have also been mixing campaigning with Internet renown.

These freshmen are making lots of promises this year, while a couple candidates’ platforms have been overshadowed by their Internet operations.

Though having been on campus for less than a month, freshman candidates are already calling for changes to Harvard and making promises for the future during this election, which runs until noon tomorrow.

The majority of the candidates created Facebook groups to garner support and promote their platforms, many of which promise improvements to Harvard’s facilities. Many are calling for dorms with cable television, common rooms with plasma televisions, and even sidewalks that aren’t covered in puddles when it rains. Food is also a popular topic, with many UC-hopefuls calling for extended brain breaks, longer dining hall hours, and more options for spending Crimson Cash.

Other candidates, including Stanley G. Zheng ’12 and Vijay Kedar ’12 of the South Yard, are taking more unusual stances by promising to push for late-night swipe access to Yard gates and the creation of an efficient rating system for Teaching Fellows.

Other ambitious platforms advocate lower tuition and a change in how Harvard distributes its funds.

“Why are Harvard students still paying tuition when Harvard is seeing multibillion-dollar returns on its endowment?” asks the Facebook group page for Edward “Ned” L. Monahan ’12. The Facebook platform for Seth A. Pearce ’12 proposes “Student oversight on Harvard’s investments and shareholder votes,” as well as “supporting not only students, but also Harvard employees, and the residents of Cambridge and Allston-Brighton.”

Other platforms take a less serious approach. George X. Huang ’12 is making promises to build an adult-sized playground on campus. “This is very ambitious,” his Facebook site acknowledges, “but a preliminary goal of 10-15 swing sets would be fantastic, even in winter.” In addition, he proposes a “bunny breeding” program to increase the presence of the furry animals on campus. The Facebook group for Agnes Z. Dardas ’12 says that she is “considering” advocating for a snow cone machine.

INTERNET GOSSIP

Other candidates’s Internet reputations loom larger-than-life over these platform issues.

Christopher A. Ballesteros ’12 discovered, before even arriving on campus, how easily his Internet activity could become public.

Ballesteros announced his candidacy via Facebook in August. Soon after, his messages, which unknowingly came well before the beginning of the legal UC campaign season on Sunday, were reported to the Election Commission—the seven-member body charged with publicizing elections, monitoring campaign spending, and making and enforcing the rules that campaigns must follow.

The Commission eventually punished him by shortening his campaign by one day.

The sensational, anonymous Harvard blog Gossip Geek, which publishes usually-fake gossip about campus “celebrities” along with blurry photographs that allegedly feature them, broke the story by calling Ballesteros out on the early campaigning. They compared Ballesteros to Barack Obama, a Filipino boxer, and Ron Paul, by turns calling him “dreamy” and a “shady character.” The blog called his campaign violation a “scandal,” made fun of his Facebook group’s promises, and linked to a video of him appearing on his local television station.

Gossip Geek posted an attack ad on Ballesteros yesterday, alleging that he wants to expand the UC while taxing alcohol. (Neither is true.) At the same time, the site has endorsed him in the South Yard race.

“I think we did him a great service,” an unnamed Gossip Geek correspondent wrote in an e-mail on Tuesday night. “His name recognition has skyrocketed, and that can’t hurt for a UC hopeful.”

Ballesteros said on Monday that the Gossip Geek coverage has been “hilarious.”

But, he added, “not many freshmen have heard of Gossip Geek.”

Ballesteros’ roommate, Luis A. Martinez, Jr. ’12, also achieved Internet notoriety over the summer for his own UC campaign. Martinez was the subject of two posts on Gossip Geek as well.

Martinez is also the chief administrator of the “Harvard Class of 2012” Facebook group, which has 1,470 members. Not related to his UC campaign, Martinez sent reminders to group members about Harvard forms due before the beginning of school year.

“There’s not even infamy or fame associated with [the Facebook group],” Martinez said. “It’s just that people tend to know who I am.” He said that the first thing one Kenyan freshman did when he arrived in the United States was to call Luis, whose Facebook profile lists his cell phone number, for lessons on American culture.

Martinez said he doesn’t think his Facebook fame will influence the UC election. “I don’t think Facebook has really changed anything. Sure, I have a Facebook profile, but so does everyone else,” he said. “Name recognition allows my campaign to be more relaxed. I don’t feel I have to introduce myself to the public.”

Martinez said he is running in part to meet more freshmen. “The greatest push or pull comes from door-to-door contact,” he said. “You can’t get that through e-mail.”

—Staff writer Alex M. McLeese can be reached at amcleese@fas.harvard.edu