Harvard Carnival Draws Allston Students

Students from the Gardner Pilot Academy gathered at Harvard’s Gordon Track for a carnival organized by Harvard students this past Friday.

Over 100 Harvard undergraduate volunteers guided 350 students from the first through fifth grades through a number of activities, including painting plant pots and making animals out of pipe cleaners.

The event was part of a program started by the GPA this year that rewards good behavior by students with paper hands, representing a high-five. Field trips are the culminating reward for students.

The event was coordinated by the Institute of Politics, the Harvard Democrats, and the International Relations Council.

A number of other student organizations helped out, including the Leadership Institute at Harvard College, the Pleiades, and CityStep.

The Senior Class Committee, which also played a pivotal role in the creation of the carnival, staffed 12 of the 20 booths, one for each of the houses.

Elizabeth J. Newton ’11, chair of the IOP’s community action committee, was the lead organizer of the carnival. Newton, who said she had been thinking about a day of service for Harvard students, contacted a vice president’s office, which put her in contact with the GPA.

According to Jason Q. Berkenfeld ’11, president of the Harvard Democrats, the carnival was part of a larger initiative organized by himself, Newton, and Jennifer M. McKee ‘11, president of the IRC.

“The interest behind it was really our recognition of the fact that on Harvard’s campus there really isn’t an in-between between the two extremes of complete devotion to community service at [Phillips Brooks House Association] and the other students who are doing absolutely no community service ever,” Berkenfeld said.

The carnival with the GPA students was the first event in what Berkenfeld hopes will become a larger campaign of community outreach by Harvard undergraduates. He said that the goal of the organizers was to eventually host a service project as frequently as every month.

Berkenfeld speculated that the administration’s support for the carnival stemmed from “a deeper desire to continually build better relationships with the Allston community,” where Harvard owns property, and where the GPA is located.

Harvard has collaborated with the GPA on a number of programs, including the Harvard Education Portal, through which several GPA students have been mentored by Harvard undergraduates, and the Harvard Achievement Support Initiative, which offers grants and professional development to Boston schools and students.

—Staff writer Hana N. Rouse can be reached at hrouse@college.harvard.edu.