If you’ve had him as your Resident Advisor or are one of his 888 Facebook friends, then you probably know a thing or two about Jason Harris ’09. But does anyone really know the true Jason? Do you know that he once preached to stuffed animals? Or that he plays a mean tambourine? Or that he’d like to tattoo the name of Glaister Leslie ’08 on his butt? Check out this soul-bearing interview of Jason Harris.
Annalee: You’re involved in almost everything, it seems, but one of your biggest roles on campus is that of Resident Advisor. As your former co-RA, I know a lot of crazy things can happen, especially when you’re dealing with those young freshman folk. Can you share with me your craziest or most interesting RA story (using pseudonyms, if needed)?
Jason: Wow. That’s a fierce question. Can I be as candid as possible?
A: Yeah, absolutely.
J: Okay. Um, well, during one of the [breaks] last year I stayed on campus to do some work and so I walked down my hall, assuming that everyone else was gone and I recognized that one of my resident’s rooms was open, I could see the light coming from this person’s room. So I walk by the room and usually I make it a custom to stop and say hello [to the residents], we become really free with our relations and sometimes we just walk in the room without asking if we can come in. So I walked by the room and this person I suppose had assumed that no one else was there and um, they were naked in the room and they just so happened to be gratifying themselves at the same time. So I walked by and I was like, “hey” and I turned and I went right to my room. That has to be one of the most ridiculous experiences I’ve had—to walk by my resident masturbating.
A: Wow, you should have abrought that up in an RA meeting. That is a fantastic story.
Okay, so you’re also involved with Wesleyan Christian Fellowship as a member of the worship band. I must say you’re quite a beast on the tambourine. Where did you learn your skills?
J: Oh, that’s a good question. Well, when I was three years old, I went to a Black Pentecostal church where they prided themselves on getting all the little kids involved in the service, so you had all the little three year olds dancing and singing in the choir. And I remember a woman in the church coming up to me and giving me this tambourine, an authentic tambourine, it’s not plastic, it’s real skin and so forth. So, she gave me this tambourine and I’ve had it ever since. So I started playing when I was I was three and that same tambourine has carried me through the years.
A: On that note, I’m just picturing a little Jason playing the tambourine, people who know you know a lot of things you’re involved in at Wesleyan and who you are at Wesleyan, but I’m really curious about Jason Harris, the child.
J: So I was a very interesting child, to say the least. When I was younger I used to be quite the thespian and I remember putting on my mother’s shoes and walking around, and just liking to dress up a lot. I remember, this is really typical of my personality, acting as if I was some sort of orator or preacher and what I used to do was line up the teddy bears in televangelist style and I would preach to them and then I would lay hands on them and push them down. But I was also a very mouthy child, as well. I remember a student walking by me and me pinching him in the side for whatever reason and then he went and told the teacher. I was like, “No, I didn’t pinch him, I was just snapping my fingers and his stomach got caught in my fingers. It’s not my fault.”
A: Oh, a bad little preacher you were. Speaking of childhood things, what do you want to be when you grow up?
J: Oh dear. I feel like I’ll still be trying to answer this question when I’m 70 years old. There are quite a few things I want to do. One would be that I would like to stay within the education system, preferably at the secondary level, so I would like to go into the academy and continue to do research and talk about issues that are most pertinent to my heart. That would include issues of race, gender, religion, class, and sexuality. Issues really pertaining to justice and I think that’s something I’ve really decided to focus my life on.
A: If the story of your life were made into a movie, who would play you and what would be the name of the film?
J: [Laughs] That’s a funny question. I would have Glaister Leslie ’08 be me and basically Glaister could just live his life and that would be a duplicate of mine. The way it works now is that for whatever reason, Glaister and I seem to be twins, by virtue of looks and people who homogenize difference, which is fine. But also because our lives are just so similar. His parents are, of course, from [Jamaica] and my mom is from Kingston, Jamaica, and just a lot of our history and a lot of our journey within Christendom has been so similar that I would probably have him play me. And the story, or rather, the title…so maybe this is quite lame, but I would like the film to be, “An Ordinary Prophet of Justice.”
A: Deep. Okay, so next random question. If you had to get a tattoo, what would you get, where, and why?
J: If I had to get a tattoo…I would get it on my left butt cheek. I’m just joking around. Let’s see…
A: And it’d say “Your name?”
J: [Laughs.] I’d get a tattoo on my left butt cheek that says Glaister’s name. Just a joke. No actually, if I had to get a tattoo, I’d get it on my right [shoulder] and it would probably be…a cross, with the word “Justice” on the top and “Love” on the bottom.
A: So, one of your friends told me to ask you, what do you find most attractive about a woman’s body?
J: Wow, this is a fierce question. Now, assuming that I am heterosexual, which I identify as, I can answer this question from something that I would be looking for. [Laughs] I happen to be a fan of foreheads. Which most people who know me probably already know. Which is great because part of the reason I like the forehead—if I can rationalize this—is because it’s the center of knowledge. It’s a locus, it embodies knowledge, and it connects to the heart in some great metaphysical way.
A: Describe yourself in two words.
J: Two words? Really? I’ll say “Love” or “Loving,” and “Ridiculous.”
A: And finally, in 10 words or less, what would you like your Wesleyan Legacy to be? If you were to have a building here at Wesleyan named after you, what would the plaque say about you?
J: Hmm…[writes on a piece of paper]…Oh, this is so difficult. Oh, dear. Okay, so, “Through Christian love, intellectual activism, and an all-consuming hunger for justice, Jason sought to further the conversation.”
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