Presidential candidate Tracy “Ty” Moore II ’06 may be an outsider to the Undergraduate Council, but he had no trouble coming up with his campaign slogans.

Supporters chant “We want Moore” across campus. His canvassers wear ties around their head to emphasize Moore’s promise to “Ty In Everybody.” His website address is moorechange.com.

Moore, along with vice presidential candidate Ian W. Nichols ’06, focuses his campaign on a promise to increase the connection between students’ wishes and the goals of the council.

But Moore’s critics question his ability to lead with no council experience.

ROCKET SCIENCE?

At the council’s presidential debate last Thursday night, questions to the Moore-Nichols ticket largely focused on Moore’s lack of council experience in contrast to his opponents, who are seasoned council veterans.

But Moore says that having no council affiliation works to his advantage.

“We have seen what strong leadership has gotten us...Jim Breuer, bounced checks and broken promises,” Moore said at the debate.

Aaron S. Byrd ’05, a Moore-Nichols supporter who ran for president on a similar platform last year, says that council experience is not a requirement for good leadership.

“The UC is not rocket science. That’s what [council members] like to project,” says Byrd, who served on the council for three semesters.

Jack P. McCambridge ’06, who served on the council for two years, says that experience is the only way to gain the trust of the administration and push initiatives through.

“Having those types of relationships and having a track record is the most important thing,” says McCambridge, co-chair of the Harvard Concert Commission and a supporter of candidate Matthew J. Glazer ’06. “Because it takes a while to build that trust, you need someone who is able to hit the ground running.”

But Moore and Nichols say the most important experience is interaction with students.

Though Moore, a classics concentrator from Dunster House, has never worked on the council before, he has served on the board of the Black Men’s Forum (BMF) for two years and is currently the group’s vice president. First Class Marshall Caleb I. Franklin ’05, a BMF member, says that Moore was the organizer of the groups celebration of black women last year.

“He’s a dreamer, but he will work to get it done,” Franklin says.