Beavis and Butt-Head, Benjamin Franklin and Bill Gates. What do they all have in common? A prospective candidate for student body president is a fan of all four. These details are just a small checklist in getting to know Darin Bartholomew.
Bartholomew, a junior management information systems major, loves hanging out with friends and exploring Philadelphia during his spare time. When he’s not delving into the history of Philadelphia or campaigning for the upcoming Temple Student Government election, he interns for U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
With the election approaching on April 9 – 10, both tickets are making their rounds to as many student organizations as possible to discuss their platforms. Bartholomew and his team, which includes Sonia Galiber for vice president of external affairs and Cree Moore for vice president of services, can often be spotted on Main Campus with TSG pins on their lapels, shaking hands with potential voters. Although, that small interaction is only a snippet of what Bartholomew does and enjoys.
As an East Stroudsburg, Pa., native, living near the Poconos, Bartholomew never learned how to master the slopes during his employment at the Shawnee Mountain Ski Area. Coming from a place where deer are prominent to North Philadelphia, Bartholomew stepped out of his shy and reserved comfort zone to join the Temple College Republicans as a general member, launching his student organization career from there.
“What better way to get good at talking to people than calling them up at random times of the night and asking them to vote for who we want them to vote for?” Bartholomew said.
Bartholomew’s hobbies include making time for his friends and consuming the news.
“I’m a pretty big nerd, so I’m constantly watching the news – CNBC [especially] – and reading the Wall Street Journal every night,” Bartholomew said. “I like to hang out with my friends and go to Temple games. It sounds so standard and boring, but it’s what I do.”
Apart from serious news, Bartholomew said his guilty pleasure is the TV show “Beavis and Butt-Head.”
“The show ended this past November, but I hope they continue another season. They’re so stupid it’s hard not to watch,” he said.
His explanation for his role models is far from standard.
“[One of my role models is] Bill Gates. I follow everything he does for his foundation and everything he did for Microsoft. I have a huge amount of respect for him,” he said. “As a Microsoft senior student partner here at Temple, I would love to work for his IT department one day.”
Another role model, he said, is Benjamin Franklin.
“As a kid, I used to read about Ben Franklin all the time, and I actually wrote a five-page paper about him and the history of Philadelphia in fifth grade. I was such a nerd,” Bartholomew said with a laugh.
“As far as politics go, my favorite politician is John Huntsman, the former Utah governor. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination. That gives people an idea of where I come from [in] a political standpoint,” Bartholomew said.
Political standing is one thing he does not have in common with his entire ticket.
“Something that’s incredibly unique about our ticket is that it’s very bipartisan,” Galiber, a sophomore political science major, said. “I’m very Democrat, and [Bartholomew’s] very Republican, so you would think that conventionally we wouldn’t get along, but I find that Darin and I get along beautifully.”
“I met him when he was on a panel with my president of [Temple] College Democrats to discuss the issue of race in the 2012 election and I was really struck by his demeanor and sense of respect for everyone’s perspectives regardless of how much they contrasted from his own, which I think in the world of politics is harder and harder to find,” Galiber said.
Galiber added that Bartholomew’s experience as the director of government relations for TSG opened her eyes to different career paths in politics.
“Darin has experience on campus as well as out in the real world,” Galiber said. “He’s a straight shooter because he knows what he needs to do and how to do it and gets it done the best he can.”
Since their initial meeting, Galiber and Bartholomew have worked together on many projects for the betterment of Temple. A significant event that stands out to Galiber is one where they traveled to Harrisburg to lobby for the students of Temple and get their voices heard in front of numerous legislators.
“Owls on the Hill was definitely one [event] that I was excited to participate in that he was running,” Galiber said. “Despite our political ideologies, which aren’t as different as people would think, advocating for Temple was something that we were united on. Prior to that, Darin and I have participated in a number of student org events pre- and post-election to discuss the election issues with different organizations as different voices. During those events, we both had a broad spectrum of ideas, thoughts and reflections of the political atmosphere.”
Bartholomew reiterated the diversity of his is a strong suit.
“I’m a Republican, Sonia’s a Democrat and Cree’s a frat boy. East Stroudsburg, Maryland, North Philadelphia, male, female, business, liberal arts, engineering, in state and out of state. We represent such a wide range of students,” Bartholomew said.
Diana David can be reached at diana.david@temple.edu.
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