YOU'RE GETTING THEM in the mail now--the antediluvian sprinklings from Harvard-Radcliffe organizations mobilizing for Registration Day drives in the fall. Once you cellists, editors, sopranos, and politicos arrive in September, zealous upperclassmen will besiege you to join the H-R This and That Club or at least put you on its mailing list. Soon torrents of literature will make you feel like the poor sucker Uncle Sam means when he points a gnarled finger and croaks, "I want YOU."

Enjoy the attention. It'll never happen like this again. And don't let anyone rope you into working or comping (a fancy word for competing, or trying out) for 100 different groups if you don't want to. There's a chance much of your undergraduate career will center on some organization, but you'll have to find out about academics here before you'll know exactly what you can handle. At Harvard, it really is impossible to be head of the Student Assembly, the Advocate and the orchestra and still maintain straight As.

The list of Harvard activities is enormous-- here are some of them, excluding athletics.

The Southern Africa Solidarity Committee (SASC): probably the most active single-issue group around. The SASC is dedicated to educating students about, and persuading them to protest, Harvard's participation in South African apartheid through its investments in corporations that operate there.

Phillips Brooks House: a community action organization. PBH sponsors 13 volunteer programs in Boston and Cambridge ranging from tutoring schoolchildren to visiting prisons.

The Debate Council: polemics for the off-spring of exasperated mothers who continually moaned at your arguments, "You'll make a great lawyer someday." The council has won numerous tournaments and even national championships, but lack of funds prevents the Harvard team from admitting any but the dedicated few who survive the crushing fall comp.

Room 13: peer counseling. When your roommate goes berserk and your proctor has interview in Paducah, this counseling service, open in Stoughton North's basement from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., will bail you out and probably offer good advice and/or good cookies. You can also call even if your life isn't falling apart, since these students are used to questions on papers and trivia of all sorts. Interviews for Room 13 are held in the spring.

The Democratic Club: future politicos so beset with conflict they held repeat elections but still couldn't decide on a president last year--almost parallelling our current situation in Washington. The Club has no particular ideology, but it does publish the Democratic Review. At least one freshman has been known to sign up for both the Democratic and Republican Clubs, just to keep in touch with what wasn't going on.

The Republican Club: sponsors of a tepid invitation to Richard Nixon, who wisely chose not to speak at Harvard. The invitation itself, though, caused a massive rift in the club. Joining this one means you are a good candidate for getting corraled into a lot of schlock work.

The Student Advisory Committee: a haven for young politicos under the watchful wing of the Institute of Politics. The committee determines schedules for Institute seminars, sets budgets and generally wields a fair amount of power.

The Canadian Club: the official organization for the 70-odd citizens from north of here. They try to keep in touch with Ottawa politics through occasional dinners and meetings. They also throw big parties.

Harvard-Radcliffe Friends of Girlscouting: Savannah cookie lovers, unite.

La "O": the organization for Puerto Rican students, which works to promote a sense of community among them.

Harvard-Radcliffe Black Students Association: the organization for black students. HRBSA sponsors cultural and social events for blacks, and it supports many activist groups whose activities affect black students.

La Raza: the Harvard group formed by and for Chicanos.