But each day was full of anxiety because neither of them joined the Communist Party.

Jacob was fired in 1987 and fled to the United States. John and his mother managed to obtain passports four years later. Their journey was nerve-wracking, as they hid visas in their backpacks and prayed they wouldn't be detained by border patrol officers. They reunited with Jacob after renouncing their Soviet citizenship upon arriving in New York City.

John celebrates that day--February 28--each year with some stiff shots (vodka, of course) among friends. "It was my happiest day ever. I love being in America," he says. "Everything people say is true. We have more rights than anywhere else in the world, there is an abundance of everything, people smile more, they're more outgoing, the women are beautiful. The first time I walked into a supermarket, I almost died."

The Appelbaums settled in Jacksonville, where Jacob taught at a community college. His father now manages his own import/export business, and they relocated to Vero Beach, Fla., after John's sophomore year at Harvard.

John attended a public high school, graduating in the top 20 of his class of 331 students. He lettered in swimming and served as president of the international club and treasurer of the rotary club while also holding a night-shift position at Dunkin' Donuts.

The first person from his school in recent memory to attend an Ivy League school, Appelbaum admits he "studied a lot."

Appelbaum spoke no English when he arrived in America. "I didn't know how to ask my way to the restroom," he says, but a 6-week summer English program at Cornell University gave hima lot of confidence.

Watching television, especially hits such as "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Jake and the Fatman," helped him assimilate into northern Florida's teenage lifestyle. The Siberian native, who still favors flannels and sweat-shirts, also fell in love with "Point Break," an action movie whose main characters are bank robbers and avid surfers.

"I took up surfing because of 'Point Break', says Appelbaum, who also rowed crew for two years. One of his first-year roommates adds: "He talked about that movie so often, we bought him a copy. It kept him from talking politics for a little while."

His politics and political views were shaped both by his own history and from yet another television broadcast: "The Rush Limbaugh Show."

"I thought he made a lot of sense," Appelbaum says. "A friend of mine said he was a horrible person, a conservative, all that. I said, 'Well I guess I'm a conservative because I agree with him.'"

Appelbaum has been interested in politics ever since. He plans to attend law school after spending some time working in the banking industry in Florida, then launch a political career. But while he has real-life political ambitions, hes been only an inactive member of the Harvard Republican Club. Instead he's devoted his attention to student government, where he says he can have more of an impact on campus.

Appelbaum believes in limited government, and he points to the Undergraduate Council as an example of a legislative group out of control.

During the past two years, the student council has begun speaking out on social issues, ranging from the rights of strawberry workers in California to Harvard's investment policies in foreign nations. It also has co-sponsored events hosted by multicultural groups while decreasing funding for campus-wide social events and concerts.

One of its most controversial decisions this year was to challenge Memorial Church's policy on same-sex blessing ceremonies.