HKS Students Plan Family-Oriented Social Programming

In an effort to make student life more accessible to students with families, Harvard Kennedy School students are working together with the Kennedy School Student Government to introduce family-friendly social programming.

“If our parties are running from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., then it’s not super ideal for those with two-year-olds,” said Maggie M. Williams, KSSG vice president of student activities.

Six weeks ago, KSSG approved a sub-committee of the Student Activities Committee named HKS Families. Richard J. Witt—the only parent on the KSSG and a member of the sub-committee—said the new body will help ensure that improvements to student life made this year will be permanent.

Amendments to the KSSG bylaws necessitated the allocation of funds for family-involved socials, and the creation of the subcommittee helps fulfill that requirement.

While on average students enter the Master in Public Policy program at age 26, Williams said that students in the Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration program tend to be older. With no available childcare, these students can feel excluded from the social atmosphere created by their younger classmates, Williams said.

Earlier this year, Witt and a group of students with families organized an alternative to the HKS-wide Harvard-Yale Tailgate, offering a screening of the game in the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.

“Whether you have kids or not, [having kids around] just lightens the mood of an event,” Witt said.

Williams is organizing a Facebook page that will offer prospective students advice on places to live and how to find schools for their children.

Alvin H. Warren, a Kennedy School mid-career student who serves on the Families Committee, said he believes the family initiatives will improve student recruitment.

“This will enhance the Kennedy School’s ability to attract and support established leaders with families,” said Warren, who is a father of three,

—Staff writer Steven R. Watros can be reached at watros@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @SteveWatros.