Student Groups Seek Diverse Membership

Help Wanted: Extracurricular organization with predominantly white and/or male membership seeks students with variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds for purposes of diversification. Please bring your unique perspective to our introductory meeting."

Classified advertisements calling for minority membership won't be appearing in campus publications any time soon but the ad's message is one that has been circulating among extracurricular organizations for quite some time.

E-mail lists, signs, presentations, advertisements and personal pleas have become the tools of the diversification trade as student groups try to draw in a more diverse set of volunteers, tour guides, or editors than their organizations have usually attracted.

The Black Students Association (BSA) has received visits from Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) programs seeking volunteers and the campus' umbrella group for public service also sponsors a minority students open house.

In addition to addressing topics like bilingual education or its Race@Harvard project, the Institute of Politics (IOP) has made diversity a consideration in the selection of their top officers, members told The Crimson earlier this month.

And The Harvard Crimson has taken out full page ads in campus publications and postered the Yard with signs announcing that the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Caucasian male cronies are over.

And while some ethnic organizations insist that their members shouldn't be recruited on the basis of their background, other groups such as the Asian American Association (AAA) say they actively push their members become involved in other campus groups.

Both recruiters and recruited have jumped on the diversification bandwagon but their reasons for doing so are as diverse as many major campus groups would like to be.

Why Diversify?

Crimson Key members represent the school; therefore, they must reflect the composition of the student body, says Jamil A. Ghani '99, president of the Crimson Key Society.

"We haven't made it our aim to simply beethnically diverse," Ghani says. "We want to beethnically, culturally and extracurricularlydiverse."

To achieve that diversity, Ghani says CrimsonKey members employed a more "grassroots effort" inthe latest comp season.

"We approached student leaders who wereacquaintances and friends of ours," Ghani says."They can pass on the word: Crimson Key does infact want all different kinds of students."

Ghani says such efforts have increased thenumber of applicants over the last two years.While one's ethnic background is not the primaryconsideration when determining which candidatesare the ideal tour guides, the Crimson Key Societynow has a more diverse pool from which to chooseits members.

"The membership of the Key has definitelychanged from the group I knew when I joined twoyears ago," Ghani says. "It has become a betterrepresentation of what Harvard is."

Diverse membership, while valuable for theCrimson Key, is also significant for publicservice efforts, according to PBHA programmembers.

"We cast a broad net and bring in people whoare interested in public service but then we alsospecifically target minorities because thecommunities we serve are minority communities,"says Nerys C. Benfield '99, programming chair anddirector of the Dearborne After-School Program.

"Each program knows it wants to have morediversity so they all actively try to recruitminorities," Benfield adds.

PBHA recently sponsored a group discussion onminorities in public service.

"While we don't believe only blacks or Latinosmake good counselors, we think it's good for thekids' sake to have something in common with theircounselors," says Alix Guerrier '98 formerdirector of the Mission Hill After-School program.

"If the kids see that their counselors looklike they do, and their counselors just happen tothink that school is important, it's going to havea big impact on them," he adds.

Sending Out the Troops

Groups like AAA and the BSA, while oftentargeted by campus-wide organizations, say theyalso try to push their members to join otherorganizations.

"Even if groups aren't coming to us we're stilltrying to increase our membership in thosegroups," says Caroline T. Nguyen '00, co-presidentof AAA.

"We send out letters to our members tellingthem to run, to vote, to join organizations," addsNguyen, who is a Crimson editor.

"It's more like us getting them involved in thepolitics, journalism, or the arts--the biggerfields where Asian-Americans have traditionallybeen underrepresented," she says.

AAA Co-President Jay F. Chen '00 says his groupwants to make sure its members realize that nocampus group is off-limits if that is where theirinterests lie.

"We're not forcing students who are notinterested in doing these activities to do them,"says Chen, who is a Crimson executive. "There area lot of qualified students who don't necessarilyknow how to go about getting involved in theseorganizations."

At a recent panel discussion sponsored by AAAon extracurricular segregation, Jason B. Philips'99, the newly elected BSA vice president said hewants to make BSA members feel "uncomfortable" forbeing members of just one group.

"The onus is on black students to push otherblack students," said Philips, who is a Crimsoneditor. "Personal pushing is much more effectivethan The Crimson taking out full-page ads beggingfor black editors."

RAZA president Sergio J. Campos '00 says healso values extracurricular integration.

Campos says part of his group's mission is toestablish a campus-wide presence.

"We try to make sure that we haverepresentatives on every thing that affect thecampus on the whole," Campos says. "I feel we havea lot to contribute and sometimes we don't getlistened to."

Tokens for Change?

Some student group leaders say there arereasons to be wary of these efforts to recruitminorities.

"It's one thing to say that there is lack ofminorities in certain groups. We all have toresponsibility for that," says Monica M. Ramirez'01, who represented RAZA at the AAA-sponsoredpanel discussion. "But I don't want someone to sayto me, 'We need Latinas. Hey, you're a Latina. Whydon't you join?'"

Jason D. Williamson '98, outgoing BSApresident, agrees with Ramirez.

"No one wants to feel like they're only beingapproached because they're black," he says.

"The real question is, once black students arepart of an organization, are they going to feelwelcome there? Or are they going to feel likethey're just there because they're black?"Williamson adds.

Speaking at the panel on extracurricularsegregation, Kevin A. Shapiro '99, editor-in-chiefof the Salient, criticized recruiting as possiblymisdirected.

The goal of student groups should not bediversity but rather bringing together studentswho are interested in some common cause, he says.

"If someone is interested in juggling, then myguess is that they will join the juggling clubregardless of their ethnic or racial backgrounds,"Shapiro says. "To talk about diversity for thesake of diversity...surely we at Harvard can findmore interesting things to talk about."

But Williamson defends the recruiting ofminority students noting that most groups who cometo recruit at BSA meetings--such as UNITE--handleissues that have a direct impact on minoritygroups.

"I don't see them as just trying to getminorities, but they're trying to get people whowould have an interest in their activities,"Williamson says. "If you're trying to foster arelationship between groups of students, it'simportant to have interaction between the groups."

Groups like AAA and RAZA say, if nothing else,recruiting their members shows that an awarenessof their organizations and the importance of theirviews exists.

And while Campos acknowledges the fear thatstudent groups will set up a quota system fortheir membership, he says he would prefer toremain idealistic.

"I would hope that they are trying to be morerepresentative. I think they really want to hearwhat underrepresented groups say," Campos says."It's our responsibility to send people who arevocal in addressing our issues instead of sendingpeople who will stay silent, as part of a diversefacade."CrimsonJessica F. GreenbellFINDING A BALANCE: Student leadersdiscuss student group segregation in a recentpanel sponsored by the Asian AmericanAssociation

"We haven't made it our aim to simply beethnically diverse," Ghani says. "We want to beethnically, culturally and extracurricularlydiverse."

To achieve that diversity, Ghani says CrimsonKey members employed a more "grassroots effort" inthe latest comp season.

"We approached student leaders who wereacquaintances and friends of ours," Ghani says."They can pass on the word: Crimson Key does infact want all different kinds of students."

Ghani says such efforts have increased thenumber of applicants over the last two years.While one's ethnic background is not the primaryconsideration when determining which candidatesare the ideal tour guides, the Crimson Key Societynow has a more diverse pool from which to chooseits members.

"The membership of the Key has definitelychanged from the group I knew when I joined twoyears ago," Ghani says. "It has become a betterrepresentation of what Harvard is."

Diverse membership, while valuable for theCrimson Key, is also significant for publicservice efforts, according to PBHA programmembers.

"We cast a broad net and bring in people whoare interested in public service but then we alsospecifically target minorities because thecommunities we serve are minority communities,"says Nerys C. Benfield '99, programming chair anddirector of the Dearborne After-School Program.

"Each program knows it wants to have morediversity so they all actively try to recruitminorities," Benfield adds.

PBHA recently sponsored a group discussion onminorities in public service.

"While we don't believe only blacks or Latinosmake good counselors, we think it's good for thekids' sake to have something in common with theircounselors," says Alix Guerrier '98 formerdirector of the Mission Hill After-School program.

"If the kids see that their counselors looklike they do, and their counselors just happen tothink that school is important, it's going to havea big impact on them," he adds.

Sending Out the Troops

Groups like AAA and the BSA, while oftentargeted by campus-wide organizations, say theyalso try to push their members to join otherorganizations.

"Even if groups aren't coming to us we're stilltrying to increase our membership in thosegroups," says Caroline T. Nguyen '00, co-presidentof AAA.

"We send out letters to our members tellingthem to run, to vote, to join organizations," addsNguyen, who is a Crimson editor.

"It's more like us getting them involved in thepolitics, journalism, or the arts--the biggerfields where Asian-Americans have traditionallybeen underrepresented," she says.

AAA Co-President Jay F. Chen '00 says his groupwants to make sure its members realize that nocampus group is off-limits if that is where theirinterests lie.

"We're not forcing students who are notinterested in doing these activities to do them,"says Chen, who is a Crimson executive. "There area lot of qualified students who don't necessarilyknow how to go about getting involved in theseorganizations."

At a recent panel discussion sponsored by AAAon extracurricular segregation, Jason B. Philips'99, the newly elected BSA vice president said hewants to make BSA members feel "uncomfortable" forbeing members of just one group.

"The onus is on black students to push otherblack students," said Philips, who is a Crimsoneditor. "Personal pushing is much more effectivethan The Crimson taking out full-page ads beggingfor black editors."

RAZA president Sergio J. Campos '00 says healso values extracurricular integration.

Campos says part of his group's mission is toestablish a campus-wide presence.

"We try to make sure that we haverepresentatives on every thing that affect thecampus on the whole," Campos says. "I feel we havea lot to contribute and sometimes we don't getlistened to."

Tokens for Change?

Some student group leaders say there arereasons to be wary of these efforts to recruitminorities.

"It's one thing to say that there is lack ofminorities in certain groups. We all have toresponsibility for that," says Monica M. Ramirez'01, who represented RAZA at the AAA-sponsoredpanel discussion. "But I don't want someone to sayto me, 'We need Latinas. Hey, you're a Latina. Whydon't you join?'"

Jason D. Williamson '98, outgoing BSApresident, agrees with Ramirez.

"No one wants to feel like they're only beingapproached because they're black," he says.

"The real question is, once black students arepart of an organization, are they going to feelwelcome there? Or are they going to feel likethey're just there because they're black?"Williamson adds.

Speaking at the panel on extracurricularsegregation, Kevin A. Shapiro '99, editor-in-chiefof the Salient, criticized recruiting as possiblymisdirected.

The goal of student groups should not bediversity but rather bringing together studentswho are interested in some common cause, he says.

"If someone is interested in juggling, then myguess is that they will join the juggling clubregardless of their ethnic or racial backgrounds,"Shapiro says. "To talk about diversity for thesake of diversity...surely we at Harvard can findmore interesting things to talk about."

But Williamson defends the recruiting ofminority students noting that most groups who cometo recruit at BSA meetings--such as UNITE--handleissues that have a direct impact on minoritygroups.

"I don't see them as just trying to getminorities, but they're trying to get people whowould have an interest in their activities,"Williamson says. "If you're trying to foster arelationship between groups of students, it'simportant to have interaction between the groups."

Groups like AAA and RAZA say, if nothing else,recruiting their members shows that an awarenessof their organizations and the importance of theirviews exists.

And while Campos acknowledges the fear thatstudent groups will set up a quota system fortheir membership, he says he would prefer toremain idealistic.

"I would hope that they are trying to be morerepresentative. I think they really want to hearwhat underrepresented groups say," Campos says."It's our responsibility to send people who arevocal in addressing our issues instead of sendingpeople who will stay silent, as part of a diversefacade."CrimsonJessica F. GreenbellFINDING A BALANCE: Student leadersdiscuss student group segregation in a recentpanel sponsored by the Asian AmericanAssociation