FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11th, 2008

Harvard Republican Club Endorses Bowman-Hysen for UC President and Vice-President
In a decision of the Executive Board, the Harvard Republican Club today announced its endorsement of Johnny Bowman ‘11 and Eric Hysen ‘11 for the positions of President and Vice President of the Undergraduate Council.

In making their decision, the Board cited the ticket’s significant experience in student relations with administrators, a platform that welcomes student involvement regardless of political persuasion, a deep understanding of the impact of impending budget cuts, and innovative solutions for student groups affected by the cuts. The Board strongly believes the solid experience and constructive ideas of the Bowman-Hysen ticket outweigh any potential concerns relating to Bowman’s membership in the Student Action Labor Movement (SLAM) or Hysen’s membership in the College Democrats, and were repeatedly assured by both candidates that, as UC President and Vice President, they would advocate for all student groups on a nonpartisan basis.

After the submission of an extensive questionnaire and interviews, the Republican Club is enthusiastic in their endorsement of Bowman-Hysen. While impressed with the visions and plans set forth by all the contenders in this race, the HRC believes the Bowman-Hysen ticket has a clear understanding of the challenges facing the UC and students at the College. In particular, Bowman-Hysen expressed a strong commitment to putting UC support behind the HRC’s efforts to gauge student opinion on ROTC through polls and surveys. As such, the HRC made a decision to support the ticket that we believe can best steer students through the tumultuous budget cut process, continue to work effectively with campus organizations of all political persuasions, and that will effectively represent the interests of all students to the University’s administration.

Press inquiries should be directed to HRC President Colin Motley (cmotley@fas.harvard.edu).

The Harvard College Democrats enthusiastically endorsed the ticket of Johnny Bowman and Eric Hysen for UC President and Vice President at a special meeting last night. The Dems are the first student group to endorse a candidate in this year’s elections.

A town hall-style meeting was held at 8 PM in Adams House Upper Common Room. Candidates George Hayward, Felix Zhang, Johnny Bowman, and Eric Hysen presented their ideas to an audience that included roughly forty voting and non-voting members. The forum was open to the public; ballots were only issued to dues-paid members.

The format of the meeting consisted of two-minute introductory statements by both tickets, one-minute answers to questions from President Eva Lam ‘10, and one-minute answers to questions from members present during the meeting.

After the debate, the candidates left the room while members deliberated briefly before voting by secret ballot to endorse the Bowman-Hysen ticket.

Said Lam, “We were impressed by all of the candidates’ experience and their visions for Harvard’s future. However, we are especially excited to work with Johnny and Eric because of their experience in advocating for change at Harvard, particularly with respect to the impact of budget cuts on student life.”

Many members also noted that both Bowman and Hysen share a commitment to progressive ideals. Hysen was a field organizer with the Obama campaign in Virginia, and Bowman has been especially active in fighting for workers’ rights at and beyond Harvard.

The Dems hope to make tangible contributions to the UC campaign in the next week of the campaign, and look forward to working with Bowman and Hysen in the coming year.

Voting is open to Harvard undergraduates between noon on Monday, November 16, and Thursday, November 19, at http://uc.fas.harvard.edu. To find out more, visit www.bowmanhysen.com. To get involved, email Ashley Fabrizio (amfabriz@fas.harvard.edu) and Tiffany Fereydouni (tfereyd@fas.harvard.edu).

The next UC President and Vice President will face many challenges. Our vision is for a united campus, with the UC working with students, student group leaders, administrators, and the College at large focusing on:

• Advocating for Student Life to create a real J-Term in 2011 and simplify room reservations for student groups.
• Bringing Harvard Online through an improved online events calendar, campus-wide study guide library, online party forms, and UC Craigslist.
• Collaborating on Budget Cuts to bring back hot breakfast and get a real student voice in the next $110 Million in cuts.

We hope you will take the time to look at our vision for the UC and for improving the Harvard experience. Please let us know what you think!

This campaign is for student life, and we will need the support of all students. We hope that you will support our effort to bring about the right leadership for the challenges ahead by talking to us, attending our events, or by getting involved in the campaign.

We hope you will take the time to explore this website and look forward to seeing you soon!

Johnny and Eric