Student Activism at Harvard in Flux

tions of what it means to be an activist, and the presence of many diverse student groups like UNITE!, E4A, RAZA and Radcliffe Women's Action Coalition (RADWAC) which are often pegged as activist but have different missions, many cite a scattering of time, resources and effectiveness as impediments to collective action.

Gorke says acknowledging the consequences of these differing definitions of activism led him and others to create an activist newsletter called Muse.

"We saw a whole bunch of separate groups working on separate issues, often with separate purposes," he says. "[The newsletter] was an attempt to bring people together...to figure out what we share, what the common values are."

Even critics of Harvard activism acknowledge the diversity of causes championed by student activists and say this diversity clouds the efficacy of activist efforts.

In a panel discussion about student activism that was part of the Democracy Teach-In, Undergraduate Council member Eric M. Nelson '99 said one of the main problems of with activism on campus is a kind of "generalization" that occurs.

"There are many, many shades of this thing called activism," Nelson says. The fact that activists on campus have fought for such diverse issues that span from Nigeria to transgenderism, he says, is "unhelpful" to the activist movement.

But the argument is further complicated by the belief held by some, including Epps that activism can be defined much more broadly to include all forms of community service.

Drawing the Line

While acknowledging the profound benefits that come from volunteering, many student activists say that doing community service is much like treating a runny nose without trying to find a cure for the cold.

"There probably are people involved in [Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA)] and HAND who call themselves activists," Wuchinich says.

"If you're really committed to ending educational inequality, you need to do more than just tutor," she says. "That's not to say you shouldn't tutor. [But] it's important that [some] people are making structural changes, though."

For Morgan, whose group, PSLM, is affiliated with PBHA, community service can be the key to activism if it works to address underlying structural problems.

"I think social service can be part of activism when you link it to social issues," he says. "When you begin to look at the larger things, you're becoming more of an activist."

"It's important to challenge oneself to participate in direct service work," Simmons says. "It's also important to ask why [you're doing that work.]"

Still, as a former coordinator of the PBHA Mission Hill tutoring program, Redmond says the relative popularity of performing community service on campus stems not from a desire to change the world, but rather to "selfishly" fulfill psychological needs.

"Community service can be a way of getting rid of guilt in some ways," Wuchinich says.

But Nelson sees this view as demeaning student efforts.

"In order to inflate the activist agenda, they're suggesting that...people who are doing community service are almost selfish," he says. "There is a marginalization in the activist community for those who do community service."

Where Do We Go From Here?

Overall, Campos says that the state of activism at Harvard remains in flux.

"We're at a cross road where we can go either way," he says.

With the issues of an ethnic studies department and college administration reform rearing their heads, activists admit there must be forward progress.

"I'd say we have our work more than cut out for us," Greenwood says.