It is 8 p.m., Sunday night. George Pape lounges on a sofa in the Student Association office, fumbling with a remote while the VH1 rock star documentary show "Behind the Music" blares on the big screen TV. He looks exhausted, and for good reason.
Pape spent the past week campaigning for the SA presidency, staying for the election results on Friday night, before taking a road-trip to Syracuse for a weekend-long regional conference that included 8 a.m. meetings.
"I literally have no time to myself," said Pape.
As SUNY trustee, SUNY Student Assembly president, and now president-elect of SA, Pape has amassed a variety of titles as a UB student, in addition to working towards a triple-major in history, political science and African-American studies.
Pape's beginnings can be traced to Long Island, where he spent most of his childhood and attended private schools before his parents' divorce, after which he moved to Pennsylvania and graduated from a public high school.
"The change from public to private school was interesting," Pape said. "Students still tried to keep up with the Joneses, but instead of Kenneth Cole shoes, it was Doc Martens."
During his senior year in a Pennsylvania public school, Pape said his interest in law prompted him to obtain an internship in a courtroom, where he watched a man be sentenced to death shortly after attending a lunch with the man's defense attorneys.
Though Pape said the experience was distressing, he said the internship deepened his appreciation for the law, a field he plans to pursue after graduating from UB in Spring 2004.
"I am grateful for the insane amount of experience I garnered," said Pape.
With a course load of 21 credit hours this semester alone, Pape said he sometimes regrets all the hours across the state he must put in at his elected positions.
"Sometimes, I think about the classes I don't want to miss," said Pape.
Though Pape described the responsibilities he has undertaken as "endless," he said they have not been unrewarding. Among the dozens of celebrities and politicos Pape has met, he said his favorite experience was meeting former president Bill Clinton last year when Clinton was the "Student Choice" lecturer for the Distinguished Speaker Series.
"Any kind of preconceived thoughts or things you have prepared to say leave your body," Pape said, about his reaction to meeting Clinton. "I had no clue what to do."
Pape then took on a thick Southern drawl and imitated their brief encounter: "(Clinton) said, 'What's your name, son?' and all I could say was 'George, sir.'"
Although politicians are often viewed as power-hungry, Pape said he hopes the public perceives him as a man of the people instead of a man controlling the people.
"What draws me is not necessarily the authority," he said, "but the responsibility to represent a constituency."
Pape said he was disappointed with the turnout for last week's SA Executive Board and SUNY SA delegate elections, in which 1,700 voters participated out of 16,000 undergraduate students.
"I really wish I knew why students choose apathy," Pape said. "I have friends in the SA organizations who always vote, plus I have friends who couldn't give three craps, even though I'm in it. It was still a chore to get them to vote."
Pape said the problem does not exclusively reside at UB, but is indicative of a nation with statistically low turnouts for most elections.
"I can tell you it's not just this university," Pape said. "It's at most colleges and universities across the country."
When he's not working in one of his various positions or studying, Pape said he likes to frequent bars on Main Street or Chippewa Street. He said he and is friends try to avoid work unless there is a particularly heated issue.
"I sleep when I can and I go out when I can," Pape said.
Anthony Saad, a senior majoring in international business and world trade, has worked with Pape for over a year as SA international club coordinator and said Pape is a down-to-earth guy. When news of the tuition increase surfaced, Saad said Pape on the side of the students.
"George informed us, brought his knowledge from SUNY SA, and helped us organize a plan a response to the increase," said Saad.
"George has a bit of that Long Island persona, but I think it adds to his general confidence coming from a bigger city with a lot more diversity," said Ryan McGowan, a junior majoring in management, clubs liaison for SA. "George is committed to helping his fellow students."
After 9 p.m., Pape is looking tired but still going. He offers a healthy handshake, and prepares to head home to get some sleep before an early morning flight to Albany.
He mentioned something about meeting the governor.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
