Johnny Bowman
President of the Undergraduate Council
At a student government meeting in late March, discussing the tailgate for the upcoming lacrosse game against Duke on April 2:
“How many shirts should we get for the lacrosse game? A couple hundred?”
“No. Let’s get 4000”
…
“5000?”
No other group of students has the power to throw huge events on campus like Harvard’s Undergraduate Council. As the President of Harvard’s student government, I have the privilege of doling out anywhere between 20 and 80 thousand dollars each week to student groups. The basic rule is that if you have an idea, and if you have a plan, we will give you money to do it.
This past Monday, a group of student government members got together to discuss the idea of supporting sports. After 30 minutes of brainstorming, we decided that every Harvard student needed a free shirt and free BBQ, along with an inflatable jousting arena, at the tailgate for a lacrosse game the next week. I was skeptical that inflatable jousting arenas even existed outside of a few dreams I had in fourth grade, but why not give it a try? Five days later, with a little perseverance, everything came into place.
The point is, there will always be someone in the room asking you to think bigger here at Harvard. And the bigger the idea, the more support the idea will get. An a cappella tour spanning 5 continents? A fashion show with 1,500 attendees? A private party with Justin Timberlake? Check, check, and as of this year, check. It’s like that old cliché, “If you build it, they will come.” Except Harvard was built nearly 300 years ago, so 90% of the building is already done for you.
It is truly remarkable what students achieve here on a regular basis, but it’s only because Harvard encourages you to think in cosmic levels as opposed to immediate levels, in exponents rather than plus signs, and if students were at anywhere else with that attitude they’d be certified as insane.
The Harvard Crimson takes on the Duke Blue Devils Friday, April 2 at 7pm.
President of the Undergraduate Council
At a student government meeting in late March, discussing the tailgate for the upcoming lacrosse game against Duke on April 2:
“How many shirts should we get for the lacrosse game? A couple hundred?”
“No. Let’s get 4000”
…
“5000?”
No other group of students has the power to throw huge events on campus like Harvard’s Undergraduate Council. As the President of Harvard’s student government, I have the privilege of doling out anywhere between 20 and 80 thousand dollars each week to student groups. The basic rule is that if you have an idea, and if you have a plan, we will give you money to do it.
This past Monday, a group of student government members got together to discuss the idea of supporting sports. After 30 minutes of brainstorming, we decided that every Harvard student needed a free shirt and free BBQ, along with an inflatable jousting arena, at the tailgate for a lacrosse game the next week. I was skeptical that inflatable jousting arenas even existed outside of a few dreams I had in fourth grade, but why not give it a try? Five days later, with a little perseverance, everything came into place.
The point is, there will always be someone in the room asking you to think bigger here at Harvard. And the bigger the idea, the more support the idea will get. An a cappella tour spanning 5 continents? A fashion show with 1,500 attendees? A private party with Justin Timberlake? Check, check, and as of this year, check. It’s like that old cliché, “If you build it, they will come.” Except Harvard was built nearly 300 years ago, so 90% of the building is already done for you.
It is truly remarkable what students achieve here on a regular basis, but it’s only because Harvard encourages you to think in cosmic levels as opposed to immediate levels, in exponents rather than plus signs, and if students were at anywhere else with that attitude they’d be certified as insane.
The Harvard Crimson takes on the Duke Blue Devils Friday, April 2 at 7pm.
