Three freshmen: One breathes fire, another is a seven-foot basketball sensation. But the third freshman, ASSU Senate candidate Eugene Nho, recently stole the headlines with a one-of-a-kind campaign video.

Enlarge
#gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/7227
Courtesy of www.YouTube.com

Eugene Nho's campaign video became a popular YouTube viewing on the eve of ASSU Elections.

Its humor and overall production quality puts ASSU executive candidates’ efforts to shame. Just ask outgoing ASSU executive Elizabeth Heng ‘07. She’s never met Nho in her life, but sent him a congratulatory message on Facebook.

The video, a parody of the trailer for the movie “300,” opens with Nho declaring his candidacy and vowing to fight for student rights. Knights then battle and race on horseback toward Hoover Tower, only for Nho to dodge their arrows in a Matrix-style slow motion shot.

The video’s high point comes moments later.

“I want to make Stanford a more active campus by breaking down bureaucratic barriers,” says Nho, his face occupying the entire screen. “Those rules and regulations of OSA [Office of Student Activities] hinder student activities.”

Finally, the editing of fellow freshman Alan Ransil — who doubles as a fire-breathing magician in his spare time — cuts to the actual trailer.

“This is necessary,” a knight bellows.

“Necessary?” screams Nho. “This is Stanford!”

A swift kick to the midsection knocks the knight into a gaping hole.

“It’s a short sentence but encompasses the idea that the OSA shouldn’t be a problem at Stanford and we need to fix it,” Nho said in an interview with The Daily. “It has a double meaning. It shouldn’t be an excuse — students are entitled to better services.”

Nho then quickly runs through his platform, capped by his rejoinder to a knight’s scream of “Tonight, we dine in hell!”

“Next year, my dining plan will fix this,” he promises.

The 77-second video ends with a cameo appearance from Nho’s roommate, freshman basketball standout Brook Lopez: He’s Brook Lopez, and, with a smile and a thumbs-up, he approves this message.

Ransil and Nho filmed the video in 15 minutes in the middle of Lake Lagunita at sunset on Sunday. A blue bedsheet tied between bedframes served as the background, allowing Ransil to splice in the actual trailer.

“He ran into my room at 5 p.m.,” said Ransil, who has been making movies since eighth grade and spent 10 hours editing Nho’s film. “I was doing physics homework, but I love making movies, so I dropped everything until 2 in the morning.”

The video can be seen at http://youtube.com/watch?v=d1nMCKvvWSk, or by searching for Eugene Nho on Facebook or YouTube. It had been viewed 875 times at press time.

Nho, who hails from South Korea, was originally hesitant about the idea, saying he did not want the student body to view his candidacy as a joke. But, as the video has become increasingly popular, he has learned to embrace it.

“I was worried people thought I was light,” he said. “I’m not really like that; I have a serious platform and ideas. But, I do also have a funny video.”