“We can be a powerful focal point for political activity by engaging people who are passionate about politics but have not had the opportunity to intersect with the IOP,” he said.
The executive team will also focus on bringing the IOP to the larger Harvard community, in an effort to “break down as many of the perceived barriers as possible,” Graff said.
They hope to hold bi-weekly “town hall meetings” to discuss current IOP projects and solicit feedback from students, he said.
“It’s an election year and people are fired up about it,” Graff said.
“And we want to channel that,” Ages added, finishing her running mate’s sentence.
The IOP elections took place nearly two weeks after a group of students on an IOP-funded trip to Miami were arrested at protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and Graff and Ages said that creating a policy regarding the IOP’s relationship to protests and similar forms of advocacy is an important priority.
“The IOP is a non-partisan organization which supports politics as a tool. But when we support people advocating specific stances, we lose our ability to advocate for politics in general,” Graff said. “We want to codify this for future reference so we know where to stand.”
The IOP is sponsoring a working group, open to any Harvard undergraduate, to help develop this policy.
While Graff and Ages are concerned with political engagement on campus, they said they have not forgotten the IOP’s announcement last January of plans to expand Harvard programs on a national scale in an attempt to increase youth involvement in politics.
Graff said he has the “luxury” of focusing on improving political engagement on Harvard’s own campus, since last year’s IOP leadership laid the groundwork for the national campaign.
Ages, who will serve as the co-chair for the national campaign, promised that an internal focus “won’t come at the expense of the other.”
Others elected include Treasurer Guillermo A. Coronado ’05, Community Action Chair Lauren S. Kuley ’06, Conferences Chair Tara M. Fisher ’06, Study Groups Chair Elise Stefanik ’06, Fellows Chair David M. Kaden ’06, National Campaign Chair Leslie V. Pope ’06, Projects Chair Elizabeth A. Goldschmidt ’06, Outreach Chair Mark C. Beatty ’06, Forum Chair John H. Jernigan ’06, Harvard Political Union Chair Daniel A. Dunay ’06 and Internships Chair Paloma A. Zepeda ’06. The Refugee Crisis policy group will be lead by Jody M. Kelman ’05, Social Security by Brad M. Smith ’05 and Campus Diversity by Danny F. Yagan ’06.
—Staff writer Faryl W. Ury can be reached at ury@fas.harvard.edu