Mass. House Representative Barnett "Barney" Frank has never been one to shroud his exasperation. (The man compared a woman to an inanimate household object, if you recall.) But it seems like his disinclination for coddling audience members has become a source of inspiration for at least one individual.

"Well, I guess you can say it started at Harvard in April when I had a debate with Congressman Barney Frank at the Kennedy School," says Joel Pollak '99, who is running for Congress. "I asked him a question, he lost his temper, and it turned into a very big thing. I got hundreds of Facebook messages and e-mails... I realized, 'Wow, people really wanted to challenge this person, and people felt like no one was speaking for them.'"

Pollak, who graduated from Harvard Law School this past year, decided Tuesday that he would be challenging Jan Schakowsky to represent the 9th district of Illinois. In an interview with FlyBy yesterday, Pollak said he had been considering politics as a career option even before the altercation, but the responses he received afterward inflamed a sense of urgency.

Pollak, who currently works in human rights law as a legal researcher for a think tank, will be on campus  Tuesday for a discussion with law professor Alan M. Dershowitz at 5:00 P.M. in Hillel.

Photo courtesy of Joel Pollak