Jon Heavey '97, president of the Student Assembly, wears several hats, including clown hats, and has much more going for him than just his presidency.
A pre-med engineering major with a psychology minor from Buffalo, N.Y., Heavey said his role as Assembly president is "to kick and scream ... on behalf of the students," which is "pretty fun sometimes."
As a transfer student who came in his sophomore year from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., Heavey said he has seen some "different angles on how things have to operate at a college."
Jumping in, getting things done
He said while there are very few things he likes better about Carnegie-Mellon than Dartmouth, his previous school had better dorm life.
"It was vastly different. The whole campus was like the Choates," Heavey said. "People hung out in the hall together -- it was much more of a playful and fun atmosphere."
He said he plans to have doorstops distributed in next fall's Free Stuff kits given out by the Assembly at the opening of each school year.
"It should be an effort to close your doors, not an effort to open them," Heavey said.
The doorstop issue was a central tenet in Heavey's campaign, which presented one of the more original platforms in recent years' student elections.
Heavey said he works well with Assembly Vice President Chris Swift '98.
Swift said Heavey "is one of those people that jumps in and gets it done. He makes sure projects work and that the follow-through is there."
"Through the whole process he makes jokes," Swift said. "He teases, but he leads by getting to know people individually, not by the power differential."
He said at the first Assembly meeting with members of the Class of 2000, Heavey started the meeting with name activities to put everyone at ease and get to know people.
Heavey "is a low-key guy you can trust to get things done," Swift said. "He doesn't put his own agenda in front of anyone else's."
Swift said Heavey is "a very hands-on guy." He said the Assembly is going to perform community service, and "we are not fostering community or facilitating dialogue, we are going to fix something."
According to Swift, the Assembly is now a welcoming and relaxed body that works together.
"The political side of the Assembly has been cut out, and [Heavey] set a lot of that tone," Swift said.
Assembly member Scott Jacobs '99 said the Assembly "is much more results-oriented this year."
He said Heavey came into the presidency without Assembly experience, but he did not surround himself with an experienced executive committee to make up for it.
"But with that inexperience he has brought in a new perspective, continuing the emphasis on services as well as implementing a more comfortable and relaxed atmosphere," Jacobs said.
Heavey said the Assembly, which has trimmed down its budget and the "efficiency has stepped up a notch," has several plans for the year.
One task it will tackle is extending the hours of the Kresge Weight Room for better access by the public and non-athletes.
Last year, Heavey applied for MTV's "Do Something" grant to sponsor a Dartmouth Dinner for all students on campus.
He said while he has had conflicts with the MTV people, he is still working on the dinner, and he has "talked to the Programming Board to try to organize the Dartmouth Dinner as part of Winter Carnival."
He said the Assembly broke even on the Mugshots upperclass facebook, and next year it will not cost anything to produce.
"We may work to reduce the price and receive part of the profit," Heavey said. "And it will be better quality" and have coupons.
The Dartmouth Dining Guide produced by the Assembly each year should be out at the end of Fall term or the beginning of Winter term, Heavey said, and it might be incorporated into the Mugshots book next year.
Learning to ride a unicycle
But despite the work he puts into the Assembly, Heavey still has time to participate other activities, like "tutoring students at Hanover High in math and chemistry" and "going out on dates" with his girlfriend.
He said another project he is working on is learning how to ride a unicycle.
"It is a project that is going to take a long time," Heavey said. "But hopefully I'll be able to ride it by summer."
He said fall has been "a pretty low-key term for me," and he is only taking two classes.
"Applying to med school is like a third class," he said.
Heavey has a diverse range of interests outside of the Assembly. He used to be a rower on the crew team and he has worked as a professional clown at a minor league baseball park.
Heavey's friend Jessica Clark '98 said Heavey came to visit her a few summers ago, and while they were out one day, they met a man juggling.
"I didn't know [Heavey] could juggle or anything," Clark said. "And he started juggling with this guy and doing all sorts of tricks -- I was so amazed."
"Every time I am with him I find out something new about him," Clark said.
Candace Cornell '98 said she met Heavey her freshman fall, when he was new to Dartmouth as a sophomore and lived in her residence hall.
"He was sort of in my UGA group, like a surrogate UGA person," Cornell said.
She said she and Heavey had food fights, chased each other down the hall and participated in "freshman year madness" together.
She said he participated in the freshman sweep before the Homecoming bonfire that year, and "he was so psyched to be a part of it since he didn't have his freshman year here."
Cornell said Heavey also ran around the bonfire.
She described Heavey is her "adopted big brother" and he is "protective -- he really cares about people and watches out for his friends."
She said one time she was having a bad day and blitzed Heavey about it. When she got home, there was a note on the door from him.
"Now, anyone could have blitzed or called and left a message," Cornell said. "But [Heavey] took the time to come to my room -- which is no small thing living on the fourth floor -- and just say hello."
