Undergraduate Council presidential candidate Crystal D. Trejo ’13 (left) and running mate David H. A. LeBoeuf ’13 chat with a student during a UC-sponsored event for juniors on Sunday in Cabot Cafe.

The Undergraduate Council presidential campaign of Crystal D. Trejo ’13 and running mate David H.A. LeBoeuf ’13 came together much like many students’ problem sets—at 3 a.m. the morning their paperwork was due.

But rather than signifying the typical student’s procrastination, the candidates say that their down-to-the-wire decision came from a feeling that they had something new and essential to offer the race.

“We realized we had to run to basically get these issues out there to be able to make change,” says LeBoeuf, an inactive Crimson news writer.

With a slogan of “Real Action,” Trejo and LeBoeuf have built their campaign on promises to advocate for better use of social space, increase the accountability and accessibility of the UC and the University administration, and create innovative strategies for student group funding and advertising.

While Trejo and LeBoeuf’s campaign platform echoes many of the same concerns raised by their competition, friends say that the pair’s ability to listen to many perspectives and translate them into action, as well as their experience working with the administration, will set them apart.

THE INSIDER

Coming to the presidential race from different backgrounds, Trejo and LeBoeuf say that their ability to look at problems from different angles will be one of their biggest assets.

Trejo has been on the UC since her freshman year, focusing her efforts on the Council’s push for social space.

Having served as her high school’s student body president and president of the Arizona Association of Student Councils, Trejo says she was drawn to the UC after arriving at Harvard because of her previous experience with student government and her desires to get to know the Harvard community.

Although she served as one of the Quincy House representatives last year, Trejo lost her election after transferring to Winthrop this fall. She has stayed active in the Council and currently serves as the chair of the UC’s Social Programming Task Force, a committee that she helped found.

In addition to the UC, Trejo, a Government concentrator, is involved in groups across campus including the Crimson Key Society, the Institute of Politics liaison program, and Candela Salsa, a Latin dance group. Though she says she plans to cut back on some of her commitments if elected, Trejo has been able to use her other experiences in the presidential race, taking breaks from campaigning outside the Science Center for quick salsa dances with LeBoeuf.

“David’s always been game,” she says with a laugh.

THE ACTIVIST

In contrast to Trejo’s years of UC experience, LeBoeuf joined the UC last spring after transferring from Clark University, where he began his involvement with both student and local government. LeBoeuf, a Social Studies concentrator with a secondary in Spanish, says that his transfer status offers him a new perspective on Harvard life.

“Anyone who says it’s a detraction, I think they really don’t understand the transfer experience and really don’t understand the Harvard experience either,” LeBoeuf says.