But even before Bok's call for action a number of professional, academic and grass roots organizations on campus had been formed to deal with the issue.
Students at Harvard have worked with professional groups and independently on numerous projects such as coordinating teach-ins, sponsoring lectures and developing information programs that reach far beyond the University itself. In October, the Kennedy School of Government will host a weekend conference for student leaders throughout the Northeast, stressing how students can make the nuclear issue a key element in this year's congressional elections.
The undergraduate organization, Harvard-Radcliffe Students for Social Responsibility (HRSSR) will be continuing its Swing District Project in the fall. The project, which involves many of HRSSR's 300 members is an attempt to educate voters in 27 selected congressional districts to how they can express their opinion on the nuclear arms issue.
All of the 27 selected districts are represented by member of the House Appropriations Committee which allocates funds for arms programs as well as other government activities.
The major nuclear aims education project scheduled for the fall is a Veteran's Day teach in Last year sevent, which was observed on 350 college campuses across the country, drew almost a thousand people at Harvard.
One of the many groups which sponsor the teach-ins is Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) which was founded by Harvard Cardiologist Dr. Bernard Lown in 1960. Boasting 14,000 members nationwide. PSR is the largest professional anti-nuclear organization. The group is now headed by former Harvard pediatrician Dr. Helen Caldicott, while Lown and other colleagues at Harvard the Soviet Union.
Dr. Howard Hiatt, dean of the School of Public Health who is an active anti-nuclear speaker and who has discussed this issue with President Reagan, says the movement against nuclear weapons is growing rapidly. "It's a groundswell," he says, "and it's very exciting."
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
The Student Assembly met for the last time in early May, but most of the representatives did not show up. In fact, there weren't enough assembly members present for a quorum, so the body could not even vote on how to dispense of the meager budget it had remaining.
The meeting characterized what student government has been at Harvard for the past 10 years: a powerless, poorly funded organization which has been largely ignored by most students and administrators. Officially, the University has not recognized a student government here since 1969.
But this fall, students and administrators alike will launch a new student government; one which at least on paper has more power, more money, more accountability to the student body which will elect it, and the recognition of the faculty.
The plan for the new Undergraduate Council was drawn up by a student-faculty committee that studied the issue for more than a year. Under the plan, which was approved last spring by both the student body and the faculty, approximately 90 representatives will be elected, with each House being alloted one representative for every 75 students. A proposal to guarantee minority representation was opposed by faculty members and deleted from the plan
The new government will meet on its own, as well as sending representatives from its body to the three standing student-faculty committees: undergraduate education, housing, and undergraduate life. The provision should improve the accountability of the committees. The council will be financed by a $10 refundable surcharge added to term bills and is expected to have a total budget of $60,000. The organization will have access to a part time administrator and an office
Administrator and student supporters both acknowledge that student body support for the new government is vital for its survival. One early measure of support they say, will be the number of students who refuse to fund the government and request a refund Other key indicators will be the number of candidates for the Council and the percentage of students voting in the October election.
IVY
Perhaps the most shocking development of the past year was the administration's apparent rejection of Harvard roots and its Ivy League tradition. After examining a report from Harvard housing experts which explained that the Ivy decorating the walls was contributing to the decay of University buildings, officials announced that the play would come down.
Student reaction was immediate and negative, and a group called Save Harvard's Ivy emerged. But even greater was the media response. Newspapers magazine television and radio reporters swarmed the Yard hounding students for quotes and administrators for explanations.
But the ultimate question is still be decided this year. The ivy has indeed been torn down from two House being renovated, Lowell and Winthrop but the roots have been left, and administrators say that no final, long-term solution has been made Until then, the green leaves will continue to decorate the houses, the Yard walls, and even Massachusetts and University Halls.
Should the eventual decision go against the ivy, however some fear the University will no longer be recognizable. As one student said at a "save the ivy" rally. "When I first came here...I knew I was at Harvard by the ivy on the walls." University administrators have privately expressed fears that freshpeople who wander off campus could become forever lost in the ivyless maze of Cambridge.