Mani said a debate was not the best format to illustrate Byrd’s leadership qualities. Later, Byrd himself admitted that he “felt out of his arena.”

But Byrd has demonstrated school spirit and energy in a way that other members have not. Council member Michael S. Gerrity ’05 characterizes him as a “cheerleader” who could motivate council members to get things done.

“Byrd brings a great deal of life to the council because he’s not worried about his own agenda, and would rather see to it that other people’s ideas get passed,” Gerrity says.

Council member Yi-An Ko ’07 says Byrd is helping to push through a diversity week bill, while Mani is working on “Loker nights” to bring performances and activities to Loker Commons as an alternative to the council $1 movie nights.

Last spring, Mani helped to organize a karaoke night during reading period. She also showed the flair of spontaneity when going on stage to sing a Sonny and Cher song.

Whitmire says Mani is an “amazing organizer” who is deeply committed to her work on HoCo, doing everything from taking a central role in organizing this year’s Heaven and Hell dance to getting people’s ID numbers so that the Harvard-Yale tailgate would be well-stocked.

In addition to the high demands of football practice, Byrd attends church weekly and volunteers regularly at the University Lutheran Church homeless shelter.

Although Byrd and Mani have very different interests, they have collaborated in council decisions and say they also “bonded” in their “Athletes in Action” Christian Fellowship.

“Divya and Aaron complement each other really well,” says Ashley N. Fochtman ’05, who is serving as the campaign manager. “Aaron is the dreamer and Divya is more about the fine details.”

Campaign in the Works

On the wall of the entrance to Byrd’s campaign headquarters—that is, his large pad in DeWolfe—hangs a flattened cardboard box mapping out the week’s strategy meetings in Sharpie marker.

In addition to a smorgasbord of rallies and events, Byrd has one or two classes listed on the schedule. He and Mani both admitted that the campaign has left little time for studying. Mani’s recent initiation into the Sabliere final club and Byrd’s membership in the Spee have also consumed much of their time.

Fochtman says that getting organized has been a struggle for the Byrd-Mani campaign.

“The first couple of days, I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off,” Fochtman says. “Now that we’ve gotten a lot of people to help with the campaign, it’s gotten a lot smoother.”

But it remains to be seen whether recent strides in improving organization can outweigh last-minute campaign planning and even the finalization of their platform points, which occurred the night before campaigning began.