Since his father began running, Alex Forrester has been spending his days helping the campaign in any way he can—from writing speeches and policy papers to doing Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) activities.

“Campaigning is mostly drudge work—even in this age of mass media, you still need people at your rallies,” Alex Forrester says. “The typical day begins at 7:30 and goes as late as 2 or 3 a.m. if things are really busy. Some days are boring; some days lunch doesn’t happen.”

Although the work has been hard, he says his family has benefited from the campaign in unforeseen ways.

“The most amazing thing about this campaign is that my family is actually closer than it was before,” he says. “My father himself has been really busy, but my brother and sister and mother have all really rallied behind my dad and there is a sense of common hope that brings us together. It’s like an effervescence.”

“There is a part of me that will be relieved if we lose,” he adds. “But there is also the fact that any of that relief means nothing compared to the desire to see my father happy. I am excited to hear the results, but I am proud of my father either way...and happy to end my political career.”

The end of the hectic campaign today will allow Alex to refocus on his future. He says that if his father wins, he is unlikely to take a job in his father’s office—which would come as no surprise to his blockmate.

“At heart Alex has a bit of the anarchist in him,” Gabriele says. “He has certain detestation of politics.”

Win or lose today, Alex will probably return to Cambridge but not to Harvard.

“I certainly can’t come back to school now that I’ve had a taste of freedom,” he says.

Moreover, though, his long-lingering dissatisfaction with Harvard has made Alex determined to avoid returning.

“I had wanted to drop out since the end of the first semester, when I realized that Harvard was only worthwhile if you covet its name,” he says. “No bribe, even a degree with a Harvard name on it, is worth wasting so much time and energy.”