STUDENT ACTIVISM:

In the years since 1969, student activists on Harvard's campus have had a tough act to follow.

To the chagrin of many, few issues championed by activist groups (like the anti-war movement of the era) can culminate so memorably in events like the forcible ejection of deans from their University Hall offices.

But even disregarding this famous episode in Harvard's history, student activists admit that exacting social change at Harvard can no longer be accomplished through the traditional mixture of noisy protests and rallies.

This past week's Democracy Teach-In, a week-long series of activism-based events and speeches that occurred simultaneously at more than 110 colleges, reflects an attempt to reinvigorate campus activism, albeit not the "in-your-face" activism characteristic of the '60 s, or even the randomization or ethnic studies protests of several years ago.

With the task of furthering activist causes complicated by differing conceptions of what it means to be an activist, leaders find themselves asking how best to motivate increasingly busy and disinterested students to accomplish activist goals through non-traditional measures.

Down From the Soap Box

Though rallies, protests and sit-ins often exemplified the activism of the past, leaders say that the effectiveness of those measures today has waned tremendously.

Kamil E. Redmond '99, a member of the Undergraduate Council and UNITE!, who is well-known for her own attempts to push for increased Faculty diversity, says that some fault for this rests with the progressive activists themselves.

"We are too loud and we are too pushy," she says. Unfortunately, she says, "students are disinterested in soap box activism."

Speaking from the other side of the ideological divide, Adam R. Kovacevich '99, who led the movement to retain grapes in the dining hall, agrees that confrontational activism is becoming less effective.

"There's been a backlash against in-your-face activism," he says. "If you have too many freedom rallies, they lose their effect."

RAZA President Sergio J. Campos '99 says he is often unimpressed by aggressive forms of activism.

"I personally get turned off from activism that becomes dogmatic and overbearing," he says.

According to Frank J. Gorke '99, a student activist involved with planning the Democracy Teach-Ins, this sort of back-lash is even present in some activists and has led to a more moderate activist front.

"It seems obvious that that sort of loud activist presence is not a presence anymore," Gorke says. "[We're] more internally focused."

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III says he has noticed the change on campus.

"There's more pragmatism and less risk taking," he says.

While he acknowledges the existence of less vocal forms of activism, Daniel T. Morgan '99--who co-leads the Progressive Students Labor Movement (PSLM)--says alternative means are sometimes needed to accomplish set goals.

"There is a fundamental lack of a strong activist display on campus," he says. However, "sometimes you just have to go out there."

He says a more discussion- and collaboration-based form of activism at Harvard leaves something to be desired.

"Thirty person rallies do look pathetic," he admits. "But people automatically become more interested if there are 300 people. There's a feeling of empowerment through rallies."

Making a Bridge

Why not more activism?

Not because of student apathy, activists say.

"It's not a question of apathy as much as having differing experiences and different ideas," says Ian T. Simmons '99, who has been involved in a variety of activist issues both in and out of the College.

Instead, they say the problem lies in increasing pre-professionalism, a greater degree of involvement with extracurriculars and the lack of unifying issues like those of the late '60s and early '70s.

"You do have a substantial number of people who are in one way committed to those goals. But there are pressures that we experience that make it difficult to organize while being an undergraduate here," she says.

Morgan also contests the claim of apathy. He points to the mobilization of students to protest the reintroduction of grapes to the dining halls as a good example of activism.

"Fifteen hundred people voted [against the return of grapes] and that's an incredible number of people," he says.

But at the same time, many say that students are increasingly involved with studies and extracurricular activities.

"It wouldn't be unfair to say we're a little self-involved," says PSLM co-leader Daniel M. Hennefeld '99. "I think students at Harvard are busy and Harvard extracurriculars are really hard-core.

According to Stephaine I. Greenwood '99, a UNITE! and RADWAC member, having so many things to do takes away from the effectiveness of activism.

"I think a big problem is that we are incredibly busy students here, and our time is over-stretched in most cases," she says. "This means that students who are already involved in several things are not as able to support other groups as much, making our collective power that much weaker."

But some activist leaders have more strident criticisms of the University and its student body, arguing that Harvard is no longer a place for academic exploration and self-discovery and is rather a stepping stone to a good career.

"It's really not surprising at all that at the most elite educational center, you wouldn't have a lot of people working toward social and economic equality," says Rosslyn Wuchinich '99, a founding member of UNITE! and a member of Education For Action (E4A). "Much of Harvard's purpose is to reproduce a middle and upper class."

"[Harvard] is a springboard into the upper class," says Morgan. "It becomes very hard to motivate against that."

Epps says he sees an increasing number of students "coming to Harvard to enjoy higher education to its fullest extent." He says this increased emphasis on academics has helped lessen the extent to which students get involved with activism.

Furthermore, he says the selective nature of the admissions process may also play a role.

"You're getting highly focused people who know precisely what they want to do," Epps says.

But in addition to these reasons, the perception of a lack of unifying issues to rally students around contributes to a lack of activism.

"There's a real lack of the very large issues of the '60s," Morgan says. But "the funny thing," he says, is that "none of the problems of the '60s have gone away."

Redmond also laments the change in climate.

"In the 1960s there was a political climate that encouraged activism, but right now there's not that environment," she says. "There's not that push there was during the '60s and that's a concern."

"I wonder at people who say that nothing is happening now, that there are no great causes like there were before," Greenwood says. "I think now is one of the most politically terrifying times to be living."

But, activists on campus say that helping students see that this is true is not easy.

Grapes: A Study in Activism

The two events which successfully mobilized students this year--the grape debate and a protest of a speech by Chinese President Jiang Zemin--stemmed from students' personal connections to the issue at hand, says Campos.

For example, Campos says several members of RAZA had migrant workers in their families, and that therefore the grape issue "started as something very emotional, especially for members of RAZA," he says. "Students saw us and saw how much we cared about the issue."

He says the manner in which he and others motivated students to vote in the grape referendum was a step away from the traditional kind of activism because of its use of e-mail, posters and pamphlets, and its refusal to engage in muck raking.

He offers his success in that case as a model for the future.

"If we're going to appeal to Harvard students, we've got to appeal to their reason," he says. "I think people respected us for doing that."

Interestingly enough, Campos acknowledges and agrees with criticism from more conservative groups on campus that there is a need for less one-sided activism.

Kovacevich says having opposition in the face of progressive activists is helpful.

"I certainly think that [more opposition] would be beneficial to the campus," he says. "But the nature of non-progressives on this campus is a tendency to be inert."

Campus says the presence of Kovacevich's group during the grape debate was helpful in promoting student interest in the debate.

"If you don't have an issue, then people aren't going to think about the issue," he says. "You have to have groups that are willing to play devil's advocate."

Defining Activism

Fueling the difficulty in spurring student interest in activism, some say, is a fundamental difference in the way people define activism.

UNITE! co-founder Wuchinich sees activism as a way of trying to implement progressive goals.

"Activism is that which is geared toward decreasing social and academic inequalities," she says. "In many ways, anything quote-on-quote political is seen as activism, but I would draw a distinction between organizing and activism."

Redmond says that activism does not necessarily have a particular political stance.

She cites the recent movement led by Kovacevich to bring grapes back to College dining halls as a prime example of activism on campus.

"A lot of people don't have that sort of passion," she says of Kovacevich.

Uniting the Activists

But with so many overlapping defini- tions of what it means to be an activist, andthe presence of many diverse student groups likeUNITE!, E4A, RAZA and Radcliffe Women's ActionCoalition (RADWAC) which are often pegged asactivist but have different missions, many cite ascattering of time, resources and effectiveness asimpediments to collective action.

Gorke says acknowledging the consequences ofthese differing definitions of activism led himand others to create an activist newsletter calledMuse.

"We saw a whole bunch of separate groupsworking on separate issues, often with separatepurposes," he says. "[The newsletter] was anattempt to bring people together...to figure outwhat we share, what the common values are."

Even critics of Harvard activism acknowledgethe diversity of causes championed by studentactivists and say this diversity clouds theefficacy of activist efforts.

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

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

But the argument is further complicated by thebelief held by some, including Epps that activismcan be defined much more broadly to include allforms of community service.

Drawing the Line

While acknowledging the profound benefits thatcome from volunteering, many student activists saythat doing community service is much like treatinga runny nose without trying to find a cure for thecold.

"There probably are people involved in[Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA)] andHAND who call themselves activists," Wuchinichsays.

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

For Morgan, whose group, PSLM, is affiliatedwith PBHA, community service can be the key toactivism if it works to address underlyingstructural problems.

"I think social service can be part of activismwhen you link it to social issues," he says. "Whenyou begin to look at the larger things, you'rebecoming more of an activist."

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

Still, as a former coordinator of the PBHAMission Hill tutoring program, Redmond says therelative popularity of performing communityservice on campus stems not from a desire tochange the world, but rather to "selfishly"fulfill psychological needs.

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

But Nelson sees this view as demeaning studentefforts.

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

Where Do We Go From Here?

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

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

With the issues of an ethnic studies departmentand college administration reform rearing theirheads, activists admit there must be forwardprogress.

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

Gorke says acknowledging the consequences ofthese differing definitions of activism led himand others to create an activist newsletter calledMuse.

"We saw a whole bunch of separate groupsworking on separate issues, often with separatepurposes," he says. "[The newsletter] was anattempt to bring people together...to figure outwhat we share, what the common values are."

Even critics of Harvard activism acknowledgethe diversity of causes championed by studentactivists and say this diversity clouds theefficacy of activist efforts.

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

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

But the argument is further complicated by thebelief held by some, including Epps that activismcan be defined much more broadly to include allforms of community service.

Drawing the Line

While acknowledging the profound benefits thatcome from volunteering, many student activists saythat doing community service is much like treatinga runny nose without trying to find a cure for thecold.

"There probably are people involved in[Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA)] andHAND who call themselves activists," Wuchinichsays.

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

For Morgan, whose group, PSLM, is affiliatedwith PBHA, community service can be the key toactivism if it works to address underlyingstructural problems.

"I think social service can be part of activismwhen you link it to social issues," he says. "Whenyou begin to look at the larger things, you'rebecoming more of an activist."

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

Still, as a former coordinator of the PBHAMission Hill tutoring program, Redmond says therelative popularity of performing communityservice on campus stems not from a desire tochange the world, but rather to "selfishly"fulfill psychological needs.

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

But Nelson sees this view as demeaning studentefforts.

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

Where Do We Go From Here?

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

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

With the issues of an ethnic studies departmentand college administration reform rearing theirheads, activists admit there must be forwardprogress.

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