Perez told The Crimson, the motivation for students to vote in the Warren-Brown race was the election’s promised effect on the national political scene.
“People would say, ‘Keep the Senate blue. Elect Warren,’” Perez said.
Perez suggested that students, since the Warren race, have shown little interest in congressional and local races, because they lack a sense of ownership in Massachusetts politics.
“A lot of students don’t really associate with the Massachusetts community,” said Perez. “They think—I live here temporarily. I actually live in New York.”
Two weeks ago, as Leslie’s team was kicking its canvassing efforts into high-gear, a Crimson op-ed on the City Council election written by Sam G. Greenberg, James B. Pollack, and Simon Thompson touched on the issue of Harvard students’ being registered in Cambridge but not identifying as Cantabrigians.
The op-ed questioned whether Harvard students were right to be fighting for a seat on the Council. The piece asked its student readers, “But are we entitled to one-ninth of the decision-making power in the city when we are only temporary residents, when many Council decisions don’t even affect us, and when we contribute so little of its revenue?”
Two days later, Eric M. Cervini ’14, campaign manager for Logan Leslie, penned a rebuttal that was also published in The Crimson.
“We live in Cambridge, and we live in a nation where voting in one’s place of residency is a right—not a privilege earned after a citizen is deemed worthy,” Cervini wrote.
Sietse Goffard ’15, Director of National Campaign for the IOP, acknowledged these concerns and pointed to some city issues that are relevant to Harvard students.
“I know there’s sort of a debate about how much legitimacy we have to be in that process because of course we go to Harvard and we’re not the sort of median voter in Cambridge,” Goffard said. “But there are lots of issues relevant to us—for example, combating crime in Cambridge and making sure that housing is affordable.”
Sara Rosenberg ’16, a native Cantabrigian and graduate of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, said that she was glad to see Harvard students becoming involved in local politics. But she questioned whether the Harvard students who plan to vote on Tuesday have taken a close look at the election’s core issues.
“I don’t think that all Harvard students will necessarily be informed of all things that are affecting Cambridge city residents that are on the ballot,” Rosenberg said. “It takes a little more consciousness.”
Winters offered a more simplistic appraisal of student voters.
“There’s only one thing they’re interested really, which is, ‘Oh he’s one of us. Sure, we like to vote for one of us,’” Winters said. “That’s really what you’re appealing to.”
—Staff writer Sonali Y. Salgado can be reached at sonali.salgado@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @SonaliSalgado16.