The True History of the ‘Pope’ at Reed

Just as there are cathedrals everywhere for those with the eyes to see, there are popes for anyone with the heart to believe. To understand what the Pope at Reed truly was, I spoke to Jeffrey Price, affectionately known as ‘Moose’ to friends and Reedies. Even after his tenure as Pope at Reed from the spring of 2001 to the spring of 2003, he still styles himself Pope Moose. 

Before diving into the position of Pope, he first wanted to clear the air of a common misconception. “Being Pope was not exclusively or even primarily tied to Renn Fayre... Instead, the office of the papacy was an elected position.” Moose mentioned that the misconception about the role of the Pope was even printed in the alumni magazine, causing the myth to spread even further. When Moose ran, he made his case about why he would be the “best guardian of student spiritual health,” and his friend, Eric Hassell, ran against him. Hassell, described by Moose as a ‘charming rogue’ and ‘a notorious cigarette mooch,’ shared that Hassell, after purchasing two packs of cigarettes from Paradox would smoke them (inside!) the SU before noon and coax fellow Reedies out of their cigarettes with “everything from jokes to flattery to lengthy discussions of foreign cinema and avant-garde music.” When juxtaposed with the real Pope, Hassell would hardly seem like a qualified candidate. Ultimately, Hassell didn’t make for all that formidable of an opponent for Moose either. After a shirtless intimidation showdown between the two candidates, Moose won the election. 

The association between the Pope and Renn Fayre specifically, Moose believes, likely stems from the movie Blue Like Jazz. During his time, the theatrics and ceremony of crowning the Pope didn’t yet exist, but later generations of Popes had more ceremonial rituals associated. As for why Moose ran for Pope, he explained, “I was primarily motivated by the fact that I felt it would be funny to run for some sort of office, but wasn’t willing to commit to actually doing things like showing up for senate meetings if I managed to win. The office of Pope never had a defined set of duties or responsibilities, so you could do whatever you felt was appropriate.” Indeed, many Popes of Reed history did whatever they felt was appropriate, ranging from distributing research chemicals to students (FYI: DO NOT DO THIS!) to a Pope candidate carrying around a six-foot cross on their back for a week to prove their worthiness. During his tenure, Moose delivered a speech at the ice cream social that consisted mostly of ‘nonsensical shouting’ to incoming students, causing some angry emails to be sent to the administration from parents. An apparently universally hated admin sent an email directed at Moose about the ordeal, to which he responded concisely, “thought the ice cream social this year was great. Don’t change a thing!  Love, Moose.” Reed responded by moving the ice cream social to the President’s house, so students couldn’t pour alcohol into the incoming freshman’s house or give impromptu speeches. Moose’s platform as Pope, “help the Reed student body to cultivate that psychic weirdness in a positive way that fostered growth instead of in a negative way,” seemed to be achieved by his stunt, with students coming up to him after saying the speech contained wisdom that pushed them through their Reed journeys, though Moose humbly concedes that as the actual speech gets further in time, so does the truth. 

As Renn Fayre draws near, it is a great time to start thinking again about college traditions. Will any motivated Reedie who cares about the ‘spiritual’ health of students run for Pope again next year? Maybe two will brawl for the title once more? Only time can tell, but hopefully, some gears are turning!