All Politics Is Personal

If there was ever a campus version of a "career politician," Evan J. Mandery '89 would probably fit the bill better than anyone else. In his four years on the Undergraduate Council, Mandery chaired two committees, served as parliamentarian, chair and, this year, as the body's unofficial elder statesman.

Underlying Mandery's campus political career is a love of competition--as part of a team, against others and, most of all, against himself. That same competitive instinct also shows up in Evan's interest in athletics. Whether as a spectator or as a participant, Evan has made sports a vital part of his life.

But the recreational rivalry which Mandery loves so much did not prepare him for the cutthroat competition which sometimes dominates Harvard activities. In his dealings with the council and with the student body, Mandery consistently had problems accepting criticism--particularly from political rivals. That fact sometimes led him into political difficulties on the council and personal frustration.

Mandery's competitive instinct shows up first in his love of sports. "I like sports," Mandery says. "Sports are probably the thing I get the most enjoyment out of."

"I like good competition, but I like competing against myself...I love golf more than anything and I'm horrendous at it." he continues. In other sports, "I enjoyed being on teams more than winning."

Mandery's interest in athletics is more than just talk. He has a passion for bowling. When at home on Long Island, he often bowls with his father, who is the principal of a public high school. "He's the only person I know who has a picture of a bowler in his room," says Rushika Fernandopulle '89, a former roommate. "I didn't know they made bowling posters."

Mandery--who has a taste for polyester shirts--looks the part of a professional bowler, and he this year competed in two tournaments in Connecticut. But Evan says in the self-deprecating style he often employs, "I'm not good enough to be a professional."

An ardent New York Mets fan, Mandery also enjoys betting on horse and dog races. Friends say that he is just as interested in the science of betting as he is with the actual wager. "I like thinking numerically," Mandery says. "I like anything that pretends to be a science."

While attending East Meadow High School, Evan played several sports--he says he was a "decent basketball player." He played trumpet in what he described as his high school's "bad jazz band."

Evan's love of athletic competition and his high-school experiences did not prepare him for Harvard's political scene. Elected to the council as a freshperson, Evan became heavily involved with it. He ran important committees and jockeyed for the most important offices.

In high school, "there was never any direct competition, but I liked competing against myself," Mandery says. "I've always felt that at Harvard, people become very competitive and driven. That's certainly very different from what I'm used to."

"I never had the feeling in high school that someone would stab me in the back," he says. "When I think of Harvard I think of that sort of thing."

As council chair during his junior year, Mandery did not always find it easy to be in the public eye. He says that he often found it difficult to separate criticism of the council and personal criticism.

"I take everything personally," he says. He notes that when the press and students criticized the council, "they weren't cutting on the council, they were cutting on Evan Mandery. It ate at me. It shouldn't have."

Partially as a result of his personal sensitivity, and partially as a result of council events, Evan's attitude changed during his year as chair. By the end of the year the optimistic and animated Mandery had become frustrated and worn out.

"I don't want to say I'm hardened, but I guess those are the best words," he says, reflecting on the end of his tenure as chair. "By the end of the year, my patience was tried. I left my last executive meeting in a huff," he says.

As chair, Mandery drew a lot of criticism from those who felt the council should take stands on controversial campus issues. He maintained throughout that the primary role of the council should be to provide student services--services that no other undergraduate organizations can provide.

"I felt and still feel that most of the things the council [should do are] student services," he says. "Providing concerts that don't lose $35,000. Non-controversial issues that reflect student opinion."

However, Mandery's most trying experience as chair came when the council was working to put on a concert. Evan had to tell a concert promoter that he would have to cancel an appearance by Chuck Berry because the Harvard student who struck the concert deal had not been authorized by the council.

"It was the most unpleasant five minutes anyone can imagine, but I still feel I did the right thing," Mandery says.

Evan also says he was frustrated by his old love--the campus press. In high school, he had been editor-in-chief of his high school newspaper and looked forward to becoming involved in college journalism.

"The only thing I was interested in when I came here was comping the Crimson," Mandery says. He finished the comp, but chose to give up journalism for a more enticing career in campus politics.

As a council member, he believes that he was sometimes misrepresented by the Harvard media. "There are times when I felt the council was being unfairly portrayed," he says. "I never went around boasting, and yet I felt we got cast as politicians and egotistical slobs which we weren't," he says.

The following year, as the council's only "elder statesman," Mandery found his senior year on the council generally satisfying.

Evan's conduct at this year's council meetings ranged from the passionate to the quirky and humorous. He was equally at home walking out of a meeting to protest the rude conduct of council spectators as he was delivering a light-hearted address mocking the speeches of freshpeople running for council office.

However, he was somewhat disappointed with the council's final days: the last several weeks were fraught with controversy, and Mandery, after four years on the council, felt that his achievements were not appreciated.

"I didn't feel the perception that I had done a good job," Mandery says. "I didn't feel any personal warmth. I didn't feel as if the time I'd put in was appreciated. I wanted people to say 'Evan Mandery did a decent job. Thank you.' "

Nonetheless, as Mandery leaves Harvard--either to teach school in England or to attend law school at either Columbia or New York University (he hasn't heard from Harvard yet)--he is not likely to forget the council.

The fact that Mandery took things personally demonstrates both his dedication to the council and the human side of the chair. Despite his eventual frustration, his emotional responses say something important about Mandery's "life-long career" in campus politics: competition and criticism were not the only things he took personally--his individual style also extended to a unique personal commitment to the Undergraduate Council.