Rumors Swirl Over UC Election

With presidential elections approaching, Undergraduate Council members are speculating about possible candidates in an election insiders say will be fierce and competitive. Rumors have focused on four possible tickets, which are notable for their diversity and mix of UC insiders and outsiders.

UC insiders are speculating that the two leading tickets will be UC Finance Committee chair Andrea R. Flores ’10, running with David F. Boswell ’10, and UC Student Affairs Committee vice-chair Benjamin P. Schwartz ’10, running with Alneada D. Biggers ’10. Other possible tickets would be led by UC Treasurer Anthony R. Britt ’10 and outsider Max H. Y. Wong ’10.

Britt, Flores, and Wong confirmed that they are considering running, though Britt said he is inclined not to. Schwartz said he was focused first on his role on the College Events Board. The candidates will be able to officially declare their candidacies and begin collecting signatures this Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Petitions are due with 150 signatures by Friday, Nov. 21. Campaigning will begin Monday, Dec. 1. Voting will begin Friday, Dec. 12, and end Monday, Dec. 15.

BACKGROUNDS AND EXPERIENCE

All the rumored candidates are heavily involved in student groups.

Flores, a Currier resident, is a history major from New Mexico. In the past, she has been involved in groups including Raza and the Harvard Democrats. She is also a member of the Seneca. She has been the UC’s Financial Committee chair since last spring, and was the UC’s secretary during her freshman year.

Boswell, also a Currier resident, is a member of ROTC and the Spee final club.

Schwartz, a Winthrop resident, is a history and literature major from Pennsylvania. While a UC representative his freshman year, he was the vice-chair for College Life, a committee he also served on while not on the UC his sophomore year. He has served on the College Events Board since the spring of his sophomore year, and is now the CEB vice-chair. He is also a member of the Fly final club.

Schwartz met Biggers, his possible running-mate, through the CEB, of which is the secretary. She is a Pforzheimer resident, the president of the Association of Black Harvard Women, a member of Peer Health Exchange, and a member of the Isis final club.

Britt, a Lowell resident, is a sociology concentrator from Maine. He is now in his third year as a UC representative, and his second year as treasurer.

Wong, an Eliot resident, a philosophy major hailing from London, is co-president of the Harvard Hong Kong Society, managing editor of the Harvard Review of Philosophy, and a member of the Bach Society Orchestra.

COMPETITIVE ELECTION

Observers are predicting an intense election. Unlike last year, said UC representative Maia Usui ’11, referring to the tickets led by UC insiders, “candidates will be able to bring forward comparable track records.”

Even former UC representative and SAC Chair Jon T. Staff V ’10, who said he has grown disillusioned with the UC, said he is hopeful about the election.

“This year, there is already competition, much more than last year,” he said. “It will be a more fun and exciting election, and hopefully that will get more people involved.”

DIVERSITY

The tickets are unusually diverse. Flores was the only Latino on the UC for two years. Two tickets include African-Americans in Biggers and Britt, who if elected would be the first black male UC president.

Staff predicted that the black candidates might help the UC reach a broader range of students.

Usui said she is happy the tickets are diverse, but that she did not want the issue to play a large role in the election. “I really wouldn’t want race or gender to be the overall issue in this election,” she said. “It’s important, but when it comes to student government, I’m not sure it’s particularly germane.”

Besides their backgrounds, the top tickets are notable for their combinations of UC insiders and outsiders, which Staff called “unique.”

He speculated that the choices of outsider vice presidential candidates “shows dissension in the UC.”

Flores said she is considering running with someone who is not a UC representative because she believes that “bringing in an outsider will break the UC’s inner political circle, and will give students a new kind of advocate.”

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