Council Candidates Pick Running MatesCouncil Candidates Pick Running Mates

Conservative Undergraduate Council presidential candidate Ernani J. DeAraujo ’03 announced Fred O. Smith ’04, a campus activist with liberal credentials, as his running mate Wednesday.

With the announcement, the three tickets for the council’s high offices are now complete.

In making their selections, each presidential candidate seemed to look for a running mate who could carry particular student groups and offset the candidate’s perceived weaknesses.

Council Election Committee chair Kyle D. Hawkins ’02 said the choice of a running mate could make or break a campaign.

“Presidential candidates will try to pick a vice president with different interests to balance the ticket,” Hawkins said.

On Monday, current council Vice President Sujean S. Lee ’03 and Treasurer Anne M. Fernandez ’03 decided to run together, surprising observers who expected Fernandez to run with council member Trisha S. Dasgupta ’03.

Lee, who has built her reputation on organizing social events and founding the Concert Commission—which has staged concerts at Harvard by such bands as Dispatch and the Roots—will look to Fernandez for her financial skills.

Fernandez is a former co-chair of the finance committee and the current council secretary.

“She’s cleaned up council finances,” said Lee. “It was an easy decision.”

Dasgupta said Fernandez backed out of an arrangement they had made to run together.

Presidential contender Lauren E. Bonner ’04 reached an agreement to run with Luke R. Long ’03 last weekend.

Bonner, considered the more liberal candidate, said her choice of Long—a conservative from rural Wyoming—will allow her ticket to “represent the student body.”

Long has also proven himself to be a popular politician; he won the most votes in this fall’s council election of all candidates.

“It’s the first decision of the campaign and yet it’s the most important,” said Bonner, who interviewed five other prospective candidates before picking Long.

DeAraujo, like Long, is a member of the Harvard Republican Club. His choice of Smith could increase his appeal with liberal students. The addition of Smith, who is African-American, also gives DeAruajo, who is Hispanic, the only all-minority ticket.

Smith is a board member of the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA) and the Black Students Association (BSA). In his first year, he organized a panel discussion on racial self-segragation at Harvard.

“Fred brings [the ticket] outside student group experience,” said Rohit Chopra ’04, chair of the Student Affairs Committee, who is unaffiliated with any of the campaigns.

Candidates must submit official petitions today announcing their candidacy; they will then be allowed to begin campaigning.

Voting will run from Dec. 10 through Dec. 12. Winners will be announced Dec. 13.