Coalition Changes Strategy

Last month when the Coalition for Diversity embarked on its campaign to improve conditions of "The Peculiar Institution," members said they were steadily gaining steam as they made the rounds visiting high-ranking University officials.

But after accepting copious expressions of support from Harvard's top brass, the coalition seems to have faded in recent weeks. The one deadline it set passed quietly on April 16 and its individual members have concentrated on specific interests, such as the Asian American Association's push for the return of Asian American studies courses.

The coalition, an alliance of nine campus minority organizations, was formed over a month ago in response to the alleged lack of minority representation at a Junior Parents' Week- end Panel and issued a flyer titled "The Peculiar Institution" that outlined their demands.

Coalition members interviewed yesterday insist their plans are on track and that the coalition has merely evolved, with a growing emphasis on the efforts of individual groups and less of a dependence on the coalition as an entity. And while it appears the coalition may be fraying in pursuing its vision of a coherent agenda, it seems to be working.

"The coalition is still pushing, but it's not doing all the footwork," said member and Black Students Association Vice President Alvin L. Bragg '95. "It's more of a division of labor in terms of interest--and they tend to be broken into organizational lines, but it doesn't mean the coalition is not pushing for all the goals."

Julia M. Reyes '95, president of LaO, also said the breakdown of the alliance into smaller working groups does not signify a breakdown of the coalition.

"We may break into pieces now, but then we'll get together as a whole to get things done," Reyes said.

This "division of labor" tactic has made progress in the development of an ethnic studies program, with a subcommittee of Dean of Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buell's Educational Policy Committee at work forging a proposal.

"[Buell] is finishing a draft of our first thoughts," said Professor of Afro-American Studies K. Anthony Appiah, a member of the subcommittee. He added that a draft will be presented to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles soon.

The coalition's push for some of the other demands, however, may have lost momentum. After administrators gave coalition members statements of support for some demands, such as increasing the number of minority faculty and the creation of a minority students' center, the coalition has eased back from its early activism, Garcia said.

College administrators continue to adamantly oppose the idea of a center.

Members interviewed yesterday still said they are confident of the coalition's political force and that they want to articulate more specifically the concerns of their individual groups. But while some said they want to continue to shape the alliance's agenda, others say the agenda is essentially set.

"[The night the coalition formed] there were so many things that had to get done, so we felt specific needs were not as important to express as the more general needs," said Political Chair of the Korean Students' Association (KSA) Austin W. So '96. So said the KSA is particularly interested in creating a Korean studies track in the East Asian Studies department.

"We have brought [our concerns] to the coalition and they are responsive to KSA's concerns... The coalition has listened very carefully," So added.

But Garcia said the coalition's agenda is the product of the specific concerns of the individual organizations and probably will not change.

"The specific concerns of each group were discussed at the beginning when we laid out our grievances and were coordinated together into more general ideas," said Garcia.

Some members who requested anonymity said that because the component groups have such varying concerns, they are unsure of whether the coalition can remain a cohesive alliance.

According to So, however, the coalition's diverse interests do not mean it is divided along organizational lines.

"It is not a meeting of a group with separate, distinct agendas using the coalition to have more political clout," So said. "But it is a group concerned with the general rights and concerns of minority students."

And members interviewed still said they remain optimistic about the alliance's progress, although it may not have a meeting before the end of the year and has not scheduled any additional meetings with administrators, according to its spokesperson Richard Garcia '95.

"Because of pre-frosh weekend, a lot of the groups have been focusing on their individual activities," said Garcia, adding that the coalition has not met because of members' school work and other commitments. "[Our concerns] are the kind of issues that are not taken care of in meetings.

Coalition members interviewed yesterday insist their plans are on track and that the coalition has merely evolved, with a growing emphasis on the efforts of individual groups and less of a dependence on the coalition as an entity. And while it appears the coalition may be fraying in pursuing its vision of a coherent agenda, it seems to be working.

"The coalition is still pushing, but it's not doing all the footwork," said member and Black Students Association Vice President Alvin L. Bragg '95. "It's more of a division of labor in terms of interest--and they tend to be broken into organizational lines, but it doesn't mean the coalition is not pushing for all the goals."

Julia M. Reyes '95, president of LaO, also said the breakdown of the alliance into smaller working groups does not signify a breakdown of the coalition.

"We may break into pieces now, but then we'll get together as a whole to get things done," Reyes said.

This "division of labor" tactic has made progress in the development of an ethnic studies program, with a subcommittee of Dean of Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buell's Educational Policy Committee at work forging a proposal.

"[Buell] is finishing a draft of our first thoughts," said Professor of Afro-American Studies K. Anthony Appiah, a member of the subcommittee. He added that a draft will be presented to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles soon.

The coalition's push for some of the other demands, however, may have lost momentum. After administrators gave coalition members statements of support for some demands, such as increasing the number of minority faculty and the creation of a minority students' center, the coalition has eased back from its early activism, Garcia said.

College administrators continue to adamantly oppose the idea of a center.

Members interviewed yesterday still said they are confident of the coalition's political force and that they want to articulate more specifically the concerns of their individual groups. But while some said they want to continue to shape the alliance's agenda, others say the agenda is essentially set.

"[The night the coalition formed] there were so many things that had to get done, so we felt specific needs were not as important to express as the more general needs," said Political Chair of the Korean Students' Association (KSA) Austin W. So '96. So said the KSA is particularly interested in creating a Korean studies track in the East Asian Studies department.

"We have brought [our concerns] to the coalition and they are responsive to KSA's concerns... The coalition has listened very carefully," So added.

But Garcia said the coalition's agenda is the product of the specific concerns of the individual organizations and probably will not change.

"The specific concerns of each group were discussed at the beginning when we laid out our grievances and were coordinated together into more general ideas," said Garcia.

Some members who requested anonymity said that because the component groups have such varying concerns, they are unsure of whether the coalition can remain a cohesive alliance.

According to So, however, the coalition's diverse interests do not mean it is divided along organizational lines.

"It is not a meeting of a group with separate, distinct agendas using the coalition to have more political clout," So said. "But it is a group concerned with the general rights and concerns of minority students."

And members interviewed still said they remain optimistic about the alliance's progress, although it may not have a meeting before the end of the year and has not scheduled any additional meetings with administrators, according to its spokesperson Richard Garcia '95.

"Because of pre-frosh weekend, a lot of the groups have been focusing on their individual activities," said Garcia, adding that the coalition has not met because of members' school work and other commitments. "[Our concerns] are the kind of issues that are not taken care of in meetings.