Student Opinions A Top Priority For Coe-Li Ticket

Undergraduate Council presidential candidate Matt S. Coe-Odess ’12 knocks three times on the door. It’s a holiday—Veteran’s Day—so he says he doesn’t expect many people to answer. But he waits patiently, ten seconds, then fifteen, to see if anyone’s home  in Thayer 205.

Coe-Odess—a tall, blonde psychology concentrator in Kirkland, who is campaigning using only the last name Coe—is a bona fide door-knocking expert. As the chair of the UC Social Life Task Force last year, he knocked on over 600 doors asking students what they wanted to see changed in Harvard’s social scene. Since last Monday, however, he and vice presidential candidate Tengbo Li ’12, an economics concentrator in Pforzheimer, have been knocking on doors asking for something different—votes to support their election to the Council’s two highest offices.

After twenty seconds, Antony S. Bett ’14 opens the door halfway. After Bett skeptically agrees to listen, Coe-Odess launches into his spiel.

Coe-Odess and Li say that their ticket seeks to increase the Council’s responsiveness to the student body and their immediate concerns, with priorities such making social spaces more accessible and fostering school spirit.

FROM THE STUDENTS

Coe-Odess says he joined the UC in his sophomore year because he wanted to see the Council be more in touch with the concerns of the student body. That same commitment to advocating for student voices has inspired his current presidential run.

“I got so tired of hearing all these great student ideas fall by the wayside,” he says. “I thought—‘why can’t I be the one to bring the student voice to the forefront?’”

During his time as Kirkland representative, Coe-Odess has done his part to respond to his constituents’ needs, according to Herbert W. Virgin-Downey ’12. “When I asked him to get vending machines in DeWolfe, he took care of it instantly,” he says.

Coe-Odess continued to emphasize student opinion as the chair of the Social Life Task Force, a position which allowed him to communicate directly with many students about their ideas about social space. These conversations—and the opinions they elicited—were integral in the formation of his and Li’s platform.

“Most of the ideas on our platform come from students,” Coe-Odess says, such as their proposals to extend dining hall hours and institute a teaching fellow “shopping week.”

RESULTS “RIGHT NOW”

Coe-Odess says he and Li want to focus not only on ideas generated by current students, but also on initiatives that will affect for current students.

“I don’t want to waste any amount of energy or money going towards something that’s not going to directly benefit the students on this campus right now,” Coe-Odess says.

Warner J. Wood ’14, a UC representative who has endorsed the ticket, says he approves of Coe-Odess’s commitment to action.

“I’m so sick of the UC talking,” Wood said. “I want to see a UC that gets stuff done, that’s proactive.”

This attitude is reflected in many of the ticket’s platform points, especially in regard to one of the most hotly-contested issues of this election: accessibility of social spaces for students.

Coe-Odess says he wants to work to make already-existing spaces more accessible for student parties and socializing, citing the Kirkland student lounge and Ticknor Lounge as examples.

“We want to extend the rules that already exist for dorm [room parties] to common spaces,” Coe-Odess says.

Coe-Odess says he and Li also want to create a central area bar where students can congregate. Coe-Odess cites attempts to create theme nights at Tommy Doyle’s and says he plans to meet with the manager of Conga soon.

In addition to tackling social space, Coe-Odess and Li also view invigorating school spirit as an important component of their campaign.

Coe-Odess says he is convinced that more students would go to athletic games if they became a social destination.

“Getting everyone to go is what [makes the games] fun,” he says, pointing to the success of the newly-instated “UC Game of the Week,” a initiative which highlights a sports game, such as the recent women’s volleyball match against Yale, to encourage high turn-out.

“I feel like Harvard has great academics, but I don’t feel like we have a great social life,” Wood says. “Matt is pushing for a more cohesive community on campus.”

Some have criticized the ticket for being too focused on short-term goals.

James P. Biblarz ’14, a UC representative who endorsed the Ebrahim-Cao ticket, says he believes the Council should play a bigger role on campus than just promoting campus community and school spirit.

“We’re the students at the greatest university in the world, and we need a voice for major policy initiatives,” Biblarz said, citing the controversy over the Social Studies scholarship recently named after Martin Peretz and the development of the General Education curriculum as issues in which undergraduates should have a say. “It’s important that [the UC president] has a long-term vision.”

Li argues that while the ticket is more focused on achieving “tangible goals” for students, their platform is not one-dimensional—for example, they also have pledged to work with the College administration on longer-term projects such as House renewal.

REACHING THE VOTERS

Coe-Odess and Li say they decided to run in October, several months after opposing ticket Senan Ebrahim ’12 and Bonnie Cao ’12 started to prepare for the election. Li admits that their late start might have given their ticket some disadvantages, such as a delay in reaching out to students and student groups.

Although the Ebrahim-Cao ticket may have more endorsements—the current count lies at 16 to his ticket’s five, including, according to their website, Pinocchio’s Pizza and Subs—Coe-Odess maintains that his campaign is in “great shape.”

Coe-Odess, who is a member of the Owl Club, says he thinks the platforms he and Li advocate for will appeal to some demographics that typically never vote, such as athletes. He added that his membership in the club will give him the opportunity to work with final clubs to solve the social space crisis, and would give him a perspective that others in the UC might not have.

“I think we’re going to see a large turnout of the Harvard crowd that isn’t usually involved in UC elections,” he says.

Since campaigning started on Monday, Nov. 8, Coe-Odess and Li have stood outside the Science Center every day, blasting music, handing out flyers, engaging students in conversations, and participating in UC debates.

And until voting starts on Monday, they’ll be knocking on doors.