Pre-Frosh Fair Nearly Excludes Ethnic Groups

With less than a week remaining before the teeming ranks of the class of 2002 descend on Cambridge for pre-frosh weekend, a crisis over the involvement of ethnic student organizations in the extracurricular activities fair was averted yesterday with the decision to open the extracurricular fair to more student organizations.

This decision came after several ethnic organizations criticized the policy of the Undergraduate Admissions Council (UAC), the organizers of the fair, which limited the numbers of groups invited to table at fair this Saturday.

Caroline T. Nguyen '00, the co-president of the Asian American Association (AAA), led the protest against the policy, which UAC leaders said was based on space considerations in Eliot Dining Hall, where the fair is being held.

In an e-mail sent yesterday to student leaders, UAC co-chair Adam R. Kovacevich '99, said that the council felt the fairest policy was "to select a cross-sampling of groups that tend to represent extracurricular 'niches' on campus." Many ethnic organizations also host their own receptions and are already represented in a panel discussion of minority groups, Kovacevich added.

However, Nguyen argued that the selection process undermined the fair's claim to represent campus extracurricular life.

"To make a blanket statement like 'no ethnic organizations in the fair' makes no sense, and I think there is enough evidence to claim discrimination," she wrote in an e-mail message to the Undergraduate Council.

Nguyen rallied other student groups to her cause and drafted a letter to the Undergraduate Admissions Office protesting the exclusion of ethnic organizations.

The UAC resolved the issue yesterday morning, announcing that it would allow all organizations who can provide at least four student hosts to table at the fair.

"As soon as the UAC heard the concerns [of the ethnic organizations] they said, `Well, we can change it,'" said Macy H. Lenox, director of the visiting students program. "This is the first time we've heard anything [about this issue]."

The decision was made after a consensus was reached between the UAC, Lenox and Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis, Kovacevich said.

Student leaders were pleased with the speedwith which the issue was resolved.

"I was overwhelmed; it's such good news," saidRAZA president Sergio J. Campos '00 who offered toco-sign the letter to the admissions office thatAAA had prepared. "I wasn't expecting anyresponse," he said.

AAA scrapped its letter to the admissionsoffice after the announcement.

As a result of the UAC's decision, Kovacevichsays student groups and pre-frosh can expect atight squeeze on Saturday, and he pledged that theformat of the event will be reevaluated next year.

Kovacevich emphasized that there was no"malicious intent" to exclude specifically ethnicgroups in the original policy.

"In a similar fashion, a cappella groups arenot invited to the fair because they have anopportunity to attract pre-frosh by virtue of theweekend's A Cappella Jam," he said.

The policy of not inviting ethnic organizationshas been in place for several years, though Nguyensays that AAA has managed to get in to the fair inthe past by virtue of its executives beinginvolved in other organizations as well.

Ethnic organizations emphasized that theextracurricular fair is important both for themand for Harvard, though Kovacevich stressed that"the weekend's activities are not primarily forthe benefit of student groups, it's for thestudents who are visiting."

Student groups should not view the weekend asan opportunity to get an early start on recruitingnew members for next fall, Kovacevich said, thoughstudent groups disagree.

"I think regardless of what the UAC says aboutthe fair not being a recruiting event, ultimatelythe reason pre-frosh go is because they want tosee what extracurricular life is like at Harvard,"Nguyen said. "Part of the job of groups who go isto make their group appealing to pre-frosh."

Campos agreed, saying that recruiting is notonly in the interests of student groups.

"Overall the ultimate goal of the fair is torecruit pre-frosh to come to Harvard in general,"he said. "When I say [student groups shouldrecruit] I mean in general showing pre-frosh thatHarvard is a great place to be."

Coming Together

The most important lesson to be learned fromthe crisis has nothing to do with pre-froshweekend, student leaders said, but rather with thelevel of cooperation achieved among studentgroups.

"I think that the huge response we receivedfrom all members of the student body is a verygood indication of what cooperation can do forstudents on this campus," said Jay F. Chen '00,the other co-president of the AAA and a Crimsonexecutive. "Things can change and they can startwith just one person."

Many student organization, from RAZA to theWomen's Leadership conference, agreed to co-signthe letter with AAA, and the Phillips Brooks HouseAssociation offered to host a separateextracurricular fair for ethnic organizations onits premises.

"It's a great thing and my whole experience,especially at Harvard, has shown that if you havea common cause it really facilitates interaction,"Campos said. "In a way it suggests that there'skind of a commonality among [student groups] thatallows us to transcend the logistics of[organizing]."

Campos said he hopes the success ethnicorganizations achieved through unity over thisissue will set a precedent for future, "moreproactive dealings" between student groups

Student leaders were pleased with the speedwith which the issue was resolved.

"I was overwhelmed; it's such good news," saidRAZA president Sergio J. Campos '00 who offered toco-sign the letter to the admissions office thatAAA had prepared. "I wasn't expecting anyresponse," he said.

AAA scrapped its letter to the admissionsoffice after the announcement.

As a result of the UAC's decision, Kovacevichsays student groups and pre-frosh can expect atight squeeze on Saturday, and he pledged that theformat of the event will be reevaluated next year.

Kovacevich emphasized that there was no"malicious intent" to exclude specifically ethnicgroups in the original policy.

"In a similar fashion, a cappella groups arenot invited to the fair because they have anopportunity to attract pre-frosh by virtue of theweekend's A Cappella Jam," he said.

The policy of not inviting ethnic organizationshas been in place for several years, though Nguyensays that AAA has managed to get in to the fair inthe past by virtue of its executives beinginvolved in other organizations as well.

Ethnic organizations emphasized that theextracurricular fair is important both for themand for Harvard, though Kovacevich stressed that"the weekend's activities are not primarily forthe benefit of student groups, it's for thestudents who are visiting."

Student groups should not view the weekend asan opportunity to get an early start on recruitingnew members for next fall, Kovacevich said, thoughstudent groups disagree.

"I think regardless of what the UAC says aboutthe fair not being a recruiting event, ultimatelythe reason pre-frosh go is because they want tosee what extracurricular life is like at Harvard,"Nguyen said. "Part of the job of groups who go isto make their group appealing to pre-frosh."

Campos agreed, saying that recruiting is notonly in the interests of student groups.

"Overall the ultimate goal of the fair is torecruit pre-frosh to come to Harvard in general,"he said. "When I say [student groups shouldrecruit] I mean in general showing pre-frosh thatHarvard is a great place to be."

Coming Together

The most important lesson to be learned fromthe crisis has nothing to do with pre-froshweekend, student leaders said, but rather with thelevel of cooperation achieved among studentgroups.

"I think that the huge response we receivedfrom all members of the student body is a verygood indication of what cooperation can do forstudents on this campus," said Jay F. Chen '00,the other co-president of the AAA and a Crimsonexecutive. "Things can change and they can startwith just one person."

Many student organization, from RAZA to theWomen's Leadership conference, agreed to co-signthe letter with AAA, and the Phillips Brooks HouseAssociation offered to host a separateextracurricular fair for ethnic organizations onits premises.

"It's a great thing and my whole experience,especially at Harvard, has shown that if you havea common cause it really facilitates interaction,"Campos said. "In a way it suggests that there'skind of a commonality among [student groups] thatallows us to transcend the logistics of[organizing]."

Campos said he hopes the success ethnicorganizations achieved through unity over thisissue will set a precedent for future, "moreproactive dealings" between student groups