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Foundation to Receive Increased Role, But Critics Question Its Approach
Early in March, two interns of the Harvard Foundation for Race and Inter-cultural Relations came up with a way to have a no-holds-barred dialogue about Cultural Rhythms, the Foundation-sponsored performance festival that had elicited criticism from some campus leaders. Bar Foundation officials and make it students-only, they decided, so that everyone would feel free to speak about their concerns. But the Lowell House dinner meeting had an unexpected guest--Foundation Student Activities Coordinator Nana E. Coleman '98.
COLLEGE
"I also am a student myself," says Coleman, who attends the Graduate School of Education. "As student activities coordinator, my role is to work with students and to assist them in planning their programs."
But former Diversity & Distinction Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey A. Fowler '00, who attended the event, says Coleman used the occasion to rebut and reject criticism of Cultural Rhythms.
"Nana Coleman came and very much dominated the discussion and prevented it from being a productive discussion environment," says Fowler, who is also a Crimson executive.
After Coleman left, frustrated students, including Fowler, gathered around the table and discussed the festival--and what some saw as just another example of the Foundation's defensiveness in the face of criticism. Now, months after the meeting, some of this year's members of the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) say they feel the Foundation has remained defensive rather than responsive to student concerns and ought to take steps to explore the issue of race on a more serious level.
SAC co-chair Michael K. T. Tan '01 resigned from his position yesterday as an expression of frustration with these issues. Tan says structural difficulties and the Foundation's status as a University body hampers its effectiveness.
"It's not an organization that's particularly critical about race," says Tan, who was also a paid Foundation intern. "There's only so much one-shot events can do...I don't see the administration being committed in any systematic way to looking at race at Harvard," he adds.
Tan's resignation comes at a time when the Foundation is expected to shoulder a greater burden in race relations on campus, according to Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68. In July, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III will step down from his post of 30 years, The Foundation's assumption of increasedresponsibility comes at a time when a number ofstudents would like it to change its ways. 'People Magazine' Approach But while most beneficiaries appreciate theFoundation's support--around 150 race-relatedprojects received sponsorship this year--and enjoymeeting the big names the organization canattract, some students who have worked with theFoundation say events like Cultural Rhythms do notreally promote understanding or change. "It's the People magazine approach to racerelations," says Fowler, who is scheduled to meetnext week with College administrators, includingFoundation Director S. Allen Counter, to presenthis concerns. Although the Foundation draws crowds toCultural Rhythms with marquee stars like actorsWill Smith and Halle Berry, it has shied away fromcontentious topics like ethnic studies,affirmative action and calls for a multiculturalstudent center. Counter says these events do not fit with theorganization's mission. "The Harvard Foundation is not a politicalorganization, and should not be expected to fillthat role," he wrote in an e-mail message. Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Peter J.Gomes, who chaired the committee that recommendedthe Foundation's formation in 1981, says it wouldbe difficult for the organization to addresspolitical issues while serving as an arm of theadministration. "It's hard to have it both ways in somerespects...Here you have a student advocacy groupwhich is intimately tied up with the collegeadministration," Gomes says. "Since it had to beboth a consortium and advocacy group dealing withmoney that [belongs to Harvard]...taking a strongadvocacy line is a rather delicate enterprise." Fowler argues that politics and race areinseparable. "It's always been about politics," says Fowler,who says many racial issues relate to questions ofpoverty, class and privilege--all politicalissues. "You can't separate the one out," he says. Some say students are hungry for forums thatdeal with these more controversial issues. Lastyear's affirmative action debate--sponsored by theMinority Students Alliance, not theFoundation--packed Sanders Theatre. Many say theywould also like the Foundation to throw itsUniversity resources--which include two Yardoffices, several full-time administrators, a staffof paid interns and a discretionary budget--toexplore similar topics. "A lot of people see [the Foundation] as anorganization which just gives out money to studentgroups," says Ziad Obermeyer '00, who served asthe Society of Arab Students' SAC representativethis year. "I don't think the Foundation is asmuch of a political presence on campus as itshould be." Others say they are not surprised by theFoundation's approach--that the Foundation allowsthe College administration to address racerelations without looking too closely at its ownpolicies. "As an arm of the Dean of Students' officethere are radical limits on the kind of work theFoundation can do," Tan says. "There are reasonsthe administration likes what the Foundation does.It's not particularly threatening." Celebration or Sensation? The centerpiece of the Foundation's approach torace relations is its annual festival, CulturalRhythms, which features music, dance and otherperformances by student groups. Almost all of the students interviewed for thisstory say they enjoy and appreciate CulturalRhythms and admire the effort invested in itsproduction. "It's a nice combination of interculturalexchange and also entertainment," says John J.Rector '99, this year's Harvard Italian CulturalSociety SAC representative. "I think it's tremendously positive, asevidenced by the fact that it's sold out a weekbefore," says Mustafa M. Siddiqui '99, the HarvardIslamic Society's SAC representative. But while the event is very popular and hassold out for the past five years, some say theFoundation's biggest event should work harder toinform. "While Cultural Rhythms is a great celebrationof diversity on campus, I do think there arethings that could be done to enhance or increasethe educational experience it provides," saysAlvin R. Cabrera '00, this year's SACrepresentative from the Philippine Forum. In a Crimson op-ed published the week afterthis year's Cultural Rhythms, Fowler and co-authorKamil E. Redmond '00 said the festival exoticizesthe cultures it portrays by making ethnictraditions seem like amusing novelties withoutexplaining how these practices fit into theirperformers' complex, modern identities. At the March meeting held to discuss thefestival, students suggested providing moreinformation about each of the acts during theperformance to help remedy this problem. Coleman argues that the Foundation alreadyprovides information about the acts in a program. "You can't educate everyone about everything inthe space of two hours," Coleman says. Redmond, who is also vice president of theUndergraduate Council, says the event may be fun,but its brochure does not make a big enoughimpact. "That brochure is easily thrown away," shesays. "The brochure is nice but I don't thinkthat's an excuse for not presenting theinformation the right way." Missing Pieces? While the Foundation includes representativesfrom 31 cultural groups, all of thoseorganizations are devoted to dealing with issuesof race or religion. SAC does not include studentswho do not associate themselves with specificethnic groups. Although Counter points to the Irish, Italian,Polish, Scandanavian and Ukranian groups on SAC asexamples of white student participation in theFoundation, Fowler contends that not all studentsfind a place in such organizations. "What that does is it pushes most whites to theside and says this is not something you have to beconcerned about," Fowler says. "This is for'ethnic people.'" And Tan, who has also served as the secretaryof the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender andSupporters' Alliance (BGLTSA), says he thinksplanning events which address issues involvingrace and homosexuality is not a priority for theFoundation. "It would be wonderful if the Foundationattempted to do some more work thinking throughthe intersections of race, class, gender and soon," Tan says. Tan requested $300 from the Foundation topartially fund a BGLTSA event, the Queers of ColorPerform-A-Rama, intended to "talk about homophobiain communities of color [and] racism in the queercommunity." After a lengthy debate, the SAC approved thegrant request for the event, which would have beenhosted by New York University Professor Jose Munozand featured performances with racial themes. But of the hundreds of grants approved by SACthis year, SAC members say this grant was one ofonly one or two to be challenged by theFoundation's Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC),which tabled his request. Counter says the FAC advocated holding a panelon violence against gays in the wake of theMatthew Shepard's death instead of the Queers ofColor Perform-a-Rama. But Nicole L. Deblosi'99, who served as BGLTSAco-chair this year, says she believes the FACoverturned the SAC recommendation because theywere uncomfortable with homosexuality. "They rejected it with some homophobicassumptions about what the performance was goingto be about," DeBlosi says. Tan says it is "almost definite" that theBGLTSA will receive funding for the event from theMassachusetts Governors Commission on Gay andLesbian Youth and plans to hold the event nextyear without the Foundation's support. The Face of the Foundation Counter has been the Foundation's directorsince its inception in 1981. Nina S. Sawyer'01, this year's CatholicStudents Association SAC representative, praisesCounter as a cordial, committed and intelligentleader. "Dr. Counter is the genius behind the creationof the Foundation," Sawyer says. "He's the mainlink to everything." Counter and many members of the Foundation'sFAC, however, have little formal training in racescholarship. Counter is a neuroscience professor. Seven ofthe 18 FAC members are science professors. Six areadministrators. No one from the Afro-AmericanStudies Department's "dream team" of race scholarssits on the committee. Obermeyer--who says Counter does "a good job ofmaintaining the Foundation's image"--adds that hethinks the organization might benefit fromadvisers with more academic training in race. "Maybe having either some other professors orsome people who are very dedicated to the positionof improving race relations or doing politics oncampus would be helpful," Obermeyer says. Gomes says the administration may have hadlittle choice in selecting its early leaders fromoutside the emerging disciplines of ethnicstudies. "Race was not a category of discourse when thiswas conceived," Gomes says. "Race types, whoeverthey may be, like the Super Bowl stars in theAfro-American Studies department, they didn'texist. We were laboring the vineyard before theylanded here so I guess we had to use
The Foundation's assumption of increasedresponsibility comes at a time when a number ofstudents would like it to change its ways.
'People Magazine' Approach
But while most beneficiaries appreciate theFoundation's support--around 150 race-relatedprojects received sponsorship this year--and enjoymeeting the big names the organization canattract, some students who have worked with theFoundation say events like Cultural Rhythms do notreally promote understanding or change.
"It's the People magazine approach to racerelations," says Fowler, who is scheduled to meetnext week with College administrators, includingFoundation Director S. Allen Counter, to presenthis concerns.
Although the Foundation draws crowds toCultural Rhythms with marquee stars like actorsWill Smith and Halle Berry, it has shied away fromcontentious topics like ethnic studies,affirmative action and calls for a multiculturalstudent center.
Counter says these events do not fit with theorganization's mission.
"The Harvard Foundation is not a politicalorganization, and should not be expected to fillthat role," he wrote in an e-mail message.
Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Peter J.Gomes, who chaired the committee that recommendedthe Foundation's formation in 1981, says it wouldbe difficult for the organization to addresspolitical issues while serving as an arm of theadministration.
"It's hard to have it both ways in somerespects...Here you have a student advocacy groupwhich is intimately tied up with the collegeadministration," Gomes says. "Since it had to beboth a consortium and advocacy group dealing withmoney that [belongs to Harvard]...taking a strongadvocacy line is a rather delicate enterprise."
Fowler argues that politics and race areinseparable.
"It's always been about politics," says Fowler,who says many racial issues relate to questions ofpoverty, class and privilege--all politicalissues.
"You can't separate the one out," he says.
Some say students are hungry for forums thatdeal with these more controversial issues. Lastyear's affirmative action debate--sponsored by theMinority Students Alliance, not theFoundation--packed Sanders Theatre. Many say theywould also like the Foundation to throw itsUniversity resources--which include two Yardoffices, several full-time administrators, a staffof paid interns and a discretionary budget--toexplore similar topics.
"A lot of people see [the Foundation] as anorganization which just gives out money to studentgroups," says Ziad Obermeyer '00, who served asthe Society of Arab Students' SAC representativethis year. "I don't think the Foundation is asmuch of a political presence on campus as itshould be."
Others say they are not surprised by theFoundation's approach--that the Foundation allowsthe College administration to address racerelations without looking too closely at its ownpolicies.
"As an arm of the Dean of Students' officethere are radical limits on the kind of work theFoundation can do," Tan says. "There are reasonsthe administration likes what the Foundation does.It's not particularly threatening."
Celebration or Sensation?
The centerpiece of the Foundation's approach torace relations is its annual festival, CulturalRhythms, which features music, dance and otherperformances by student groups.
Almost all of the students interviewed for thisstory say they enjoy and appreciate CulturalRhythms and admire the effort invested in itsproduction.
"It's a nice combination of interculturalexchange and also entertainment," says John J.Rector '99, this year's Harvard Italian CulturalSociety SAC representative.
"I think it's tremendously positive, asevidenced by the fact that it's sold out a weekbefore," says Mustafa M. Siddiqui '99, the HarvardIslamic Society's SAC representative.
But while the event is very popular and hassold out for the past five years, some say theFoundation's biggest event should work harder toinform.
"While Cultural Rhythms is a great celebrationof diversity on campus, I do think there arethings that could be done to enhance or increasethe educational experience it provides," saysAlvin R. Cabrera '00, this year's SACrepresentative from the Philippine Forum.
In a Crimson op-ed published the week afterthis year's Cultural Rhythms, Fowler and co-authorKamil E. Redmond '00 said the festival exoticizesthe cultures it portrays by making ethnictraditions seem like amusing novelties withoutexplaining how these practices fit into theirperformers' complex, modern identities.
At the March meeting held to discuss thefestival, students suggested providing moreinformation about each of the acts during theperformance to help remedy this problem.
Coleman argues that the Foundation alreadyprovides information about the acts in a program.
"You can't educate everyone about everything inthe space of two hours," Coleman says.
Redmond, who is also vice president of theUndergraduate Council, says the event may be fun,but its brochure does not make a big enoughimpact.
"That brochure is easily thrown away," shesays. "The brochure is nice but I don't thinkthat's an excuse for not presenting theinformation the right way."
Missing Pieces?
While the Foundation includes representativesfrom 31 cultural groups, all of thoseorganizations are devoted to dealing with issuesof race or religion. SAC does not include studentswho do not associate themselves with specificethnic groups.
Although Counter points to the Irish, Italian,Polish, Scandanavian and Ukranian groups on SAC asexamples of white student participation in theFoundation, Fowler contends that not all studentsfind a place in such organizations.
"What that does is it pushes most whites to theside and says this is not something you have to beconcerned about," Fowler says. "This is for'ethnic people.'"
And Tan, who has also served as the secretaryof the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender andSupporters' Alliance (BGLTSA), says he thinksplanning events which address issues involvingrace and homosexuality is not a priority for theFoundation.
"It would be wonderful if the Foundationattempted to do some more work thinking throughthe intersections of race, class, gender and soon," Tan says.
Tan requested $300 from the Foundation topartially fund a BGLTSA event, the Queers of ColorPerform-A-Rama, intended to "talk about homophobiain communities of color [and] racism in the queercommunity."
After a lengthy debate, the SAC approved thegrant request for the event, which would have beenhosted by New York University Professor Jose Munozand featured performances with racial themes.
But of the hundreds of grants approved by SACthis year, SAC members say this grant was one ofonly one or two to be challenged by theFoundation's Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC),which tabled his request.
Counter says the FAC advocated holding a panelon violence against gays in the wake of theMatthew Shepard's death instead of the Queers ofColor Perform-a-Rama.
But Nicole L. Deblosi'99, who served as BGLTSAco-chair this year, says she believes the FACoverturned the SAC recommendation because theywere uncomfortable with homosexuality.
"They rejected it with some homophobicassumptions about what the performance was goingto be about," DeBlosi says.
Tan says it is "almost definite" that theBGLTSA will receive funding for the event from theMassachusetts Governors Commission on Gay andLesbian Youth and plans to hold the event nextyear without the Foundation's support.
The Face of the Foundation
Counter has been the Foundation's directorsince its inception in 1981.
Nina S. Sawyer'01, this year's CatholicStudents Association SAC representative, praisesCounter as a cordial, committed and intelligentleader.
"Dr. Counter is the genius behind the creationof the Foundation," Sawyer says. "He's the mainlink to everything."
Counter and many members of the Foundation'sFAC, however, have little formal training in racescholarship.
Counter is a neuroscience professor. Seven ofthe 18 FAC members are science professors. Six areadministrators. No one from the Afro-AmericanStudies Department's "dream team" of race scholarssits on the committee.
Obermeyer--who says Counter does "a good job ofmaintaining the Foundation's image"--adds that hethinks the organization might benefit fromadvisers with more academic training in race.
"Maybe having either some other professors orsome people who are very dedicated to the positionof improving race relations or doing politics oncampus would be helpful," Obermeyer says.
Gomes says the administration may have hadlittle choice in selecting its early leaders fromoutside the emerging disciplines of ethnicstudies.
"Race was not a category of discourse when thiswas conceived," Gomes says. "Race types, whoeverthey may be, like the Super Bowl stars in theAfro-American Studies department, they didn'texist. We were laboring the vineyard before theylanded here so I guess we had to use
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