While the country prays for the prompt and full recovery of Congresswoman (and Cornellian) Gabrielle Giffords, the Times recently ran a lighter story on newly minted Congressman (and Cornellian) Hansen Clarke '81: “Washington is not going to be a home for me — I’m only there to work,” Mr. Clarke said. “I need to be able to work up to 20 hours a day and still get some decent sleep, and if I sleep in my office I’ll be able to do that.” Mr. Clarke is one of as many as a dozen freshman House members who plan to bunk in their offices when Congress is in session. Though no one has hard numbers, anecdotal evidence suggests that at least 40 to 50 House members, both new and old, will be sleeping at work.Hansen Clarke, a newly elected Democrat from Michigan, is coming to Washington with a “warrior’s mentality” to help stave off unemployment and foreclosures in metro Detroit. He plans to hole up in his “bunker” — his Longworth House office, where he will work (“practically around the clock”), eat (“healthy options” like microwaved sweet potatoes) and sleep (most likely on a mattress and sleeping bag combination).
Elie previously wrote about Clarke in August.
One can't help if Clarke developed his sleeping habits in Uris Library... but unfortunately for him, he didn't have the comforts of the Cocktail Lounge to enjoy: the library's Daily Sun archives indicate that the ground wasn't broken for the Uris addition until a month before Clarke graduated.
