The Flush the John presidential campaign in 2010 was a mock presidential campaign where I ran for President of the Associated Students of UCSD. With my running mate Tyler Nelson we ran on the campaign of “bringing the Glee Cast and the band Muse”, as well as puppies to the annual SunGod festival on campus.
It wasn’t to be taken too seriously, and though we upset a few people, we obviously didn’t win so it didn’t really matter in the long run.
And yet it was good enough to get some newspaper coverage in the UCSD Guardian. An excerpt of the text is provided below in case they ever take the article down.
John Tran — Flush the John
For all the other candidates’ talk about transparency, it’s Warren College junior John Tran — the sole contender without prior council experience — that has the simplest plan for improving student life. He wants to bring puppies, Muse and the cast of “Glee” to UCSD. (And not a whole lot else.)
Tran, who’s double majoring in history and communications, may not have any political experience, but he’s also no stranger to student involvement. He’s been keeping busy since his sophomore year, when he joined Programming at Warren and helped plan events and allocate funds for Warren College students.
Since then, Tran’s also played an active role in the Inter-College Residents Association, for which he serves as the Vice President of Public Relations.
Even more recently, he’s joined UCSD Cares, an organization that works to raise money for and recognize other philanthropic UCSD organizations.
“He’s very committed to what he does,” said Warren College junior Tyler Nelson, who’s running for Vice President of External Affairs on Tran’s slate. “He’s not so strong-headed to do only what he wants to do. He’s not going to shut anyone down. He’s a very amiable guy.”
Tran and Nelson want to keep the focus on students. Their campaign has been centered on the simple focus of the Flush the John vision: creating a better Sun God.
“We just came together and we basically wanted to start off simple,” Tran said. “Make a better Sun God, bring the ‘Glee’ cast, bring Muse. It’s definitely grown into something. We want to see if we can change A.S. from the inside.”
While he hasn’t been to any A.S. Council meetings, Tran said he’s been doing his research, and has a pretty keen idea of what he wants changed.
First, he’s hoping to get rid of A.S. resolutions — statements that go before a council vote and are said to define UCSD’s stance on a campus or political issue.
“Some of the resolutions in the past have been really unfair,” Tran said. “They don’t represent all UCSD students. I’ve been going to the A.S. website and looking over things, and I was against the resolutions when I read about them in the Guardian. I thought, ‘Why are they staying up until 4 a.m. discussing these things?’”
Tran says his main focus would be on the students, and wants council to reduce funding for conferences and councilmember stipends, instead funneling those resources toward events benefitting student life, such as pancake breakfasts and — one of the chief tenets of Tran’s campaign — more puppies.
“We think puppies are big stress relievers,” Tran said. “We know a lot of UCSD students are stressed as it is. More puppies on campus will make them a lot happier.”
Tran’s lack of experience may make him the object of criticism from naysayers, but he’s prepared to take the heat.
“Most people in UCSD aren’t familiar with what A.S. does, either,” Tran said. “I would represent those people. I feel like not everyone has a voice in A.S. Most of them really don’t care what A.S. does. If we give students what they want, that makes a happier campus.”
And, for Tran, it’s all in the name. “Flush the John” reflects the light-heartedness Tran hopes to bring to council.
“I’m kind of a comic relief,” he said. “I think that A.S. needs to lighten up a little. They’re kind of serious — that doesn’t make it fun.”
