UC Hopefuls Jones-Davis Are Proud of Their ‘Virality’

It’s noon on an overcast Wednesday, and Collin A. Jones ’12 is on the science center lawn campaigning to become Undergraduate Council President. Unlike his fellow candidates, however, Jones is sporting a full-size Tigger suit, with pogo stick in hand.

“I’ve been on this pogo stick for ten minutes straight,” he shouts, climbing back on. Next to him is his running mate, Peter D. Davis ’12, holding a giant felt board with three sloppily placed pillars, representing their campaign points, attached.

“Do you support democracy, safety, and the twenty-first century?” he asks. “Vote Jones-Davis!”

With their simple platform of “three pillars,” a catchy Michael Jackson campaign song, and a pet frog as a mascot, the Jones-Davis campaign deviates considerably from traditional UC tickets.

Although neither Jones nor Davis has UC experience, the two proudly tout their high school student council experiences and membership in the National Honor Society in a YouTube campaign video.

“Can the average Harvard student bring that type of experience to the table?” Jones challenges.

A ‘NONTRADITIONAL’ TICKET

Among the three pairs vying for leadership of the student body this year, the Jones-Davis ticket has been dubbed the “non-traditional” or “outsider” choice.  While the Coe-Li and Ebrahim-Cao tickets are both composed of current UC leaders, Jones, a comparative religion concentrator in Quincy House, and Davis, a government concentrator in Currier, make no mystery of their lack of UC experience.

“The majority of the student body knows nothing about the UC. We want to represent the majority of the student body,” Jones says. “We promise that we don’t know any more than you do, and we probably know less.”

Jones and Davis, however, say they are trying to leverage their underdog position to achieve grassroots support. Through a series of quirky campaign videos, a loyal staff team, and a website modeled after that of New York’s The Rent Is Too Damn High Party, this duo is working to win the hearts and minds of the student body.

“We’re pleased with our virality,” Davis says.

REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE

Chief among the proposed Jones-Davis initiatives is their first campaign promise—“the pillar of democracy,” by which the two propose to open all UC decisions to a popular vote. Citing the UC’s increase in representatives, the two said they would like to increase that number by 6,000 or, Davis adds, “however many it would take to have everyone at Harvard represented.”

The two plan to implement this vision of direct democracy through Google forms, SurveyMonkey or “the doodle.” Their first poll, which ended last Wednesday, asked students to vote on how they should spend their campaign money.

Among requests for “icing” University President Drew G. Faust and their competitors—not to mention changing their remaining $20.10 into pennies to be strewn around campus—one suggestion was louder than the rest.

“The people have spoken, and they have told us to buy a small animal,” Jones said.

Early Thursday, the two headed for Alewife, where they purchased a Cuban Tree Frog—for the people. The frog, which they named Harvard, will reside in a newly-purchased terrarium, dubbed “the 21st century.”

A THREAT TO THE ‘UC BELTWAY’

With a strong band of devotees and a notoriety that is growing day by day, Jones-Davis may present a threat to the more traditional UC platforms on display. As of yesterday, their campaign’s Facebook page had 137 likes, running behind Ebrahim-Cao’s with 259 but ahead of Coe-Li’s 48.

And even though the two are rejecting offers of endorsement from campus organizations out of their refusal to run a “traditional” campaign, Jones-Davis is hoping to score big-time with a show of support from basketball star Shaquille O’Neal himself. The two appealed to Shaq for an endorsement last week via his Twitter page.

However, while Shaq has yet to respond, other voices from outside the student body have chimed in to show their approval.

“To me, the UC is a largely decorative organization that sends you emails once or twice a year,” said Alexandra A. Petri ’10, a former UC VP candidate who ran  with Roger G. Waite ’10 on a platform that advocated replacing the UC with Hapsburg rule.

“There’s no one who’s more largely decorative, or from whom I’d like to receive emails from once or twice a year than Pete Davis,” Petri said.

Petri, now a Washington Post editorial contributor, said that to do well as a nontraditional ticket,  the candidates must define themselves well and pander. One of the most difficult hurdles a nontraditional campaign must pass, she said, is “getting your friends to vote for you.”

A SERIOUS SIDE

Underneath the campaign stunts and tongue-in-cheek YouTube videos, however, Jones-Davis campaign proposes some less humorous suggestions.

For example, even though Jones and Davis don’t have explicit UC credentials, neither lacks leadership experience. Jones is a ‘Hahvahd Tour’ Guide and spent his summer working in an orphanage in the Dominican Republic through Harvard’s Rockefeller Grant initiative, while Davis is a co-founder of “Harvard Thinks Big,” a contributor to the fake news show On Harvard Time, and a co-president of the Harvard College Stand-Up Comic Society.

Professor Andrew Berry, who spoke at Harvard Thinks Big, called Davis a “logistical genius” for being able to gather so many big-name professors in one place at the event, and Quincy House Resident Dean Judith F. Chapman said that Jones has integrity and “does the things he says he’s going to do.”

In addition to strong resumes and recommendations, the two have also highlighted several important issues about student life in their various videos and interviews.

When asked about social life at Harvard, for instance, the pair cited the Harvard-Yale Game in the fall and Housing Day in the spring as “sufficient” for community-building—“once a semester is enough,” Davis said.

In the meantime, however, the team stands behind its campaign slogan:

“...Until we Run Out of Money, or Get Removed from Office.”