Another important source of the increased altruism is the media attention devoted to the famine throughout Africa. "Famine is always there but you can't sustain the coverage. But I think the Ethipia crises gave a push for us," says Troy A. Davis '87, treasurer of Cyclists Fighting Hunger.

OCS's Atherton agrees that a good bit of the motivation guiding applicants to apply for public service jobs in international development is the media attention. But he adds, "I think people do by and large have strong social consciences. I hope we will be able to get more people. It's hard to say if this is short term; we'll have to wait."

The Future

The future of public service at Harvard is hard to peg. Many people point to the development of Citystep as a beacon of hope. Its initiative, innovation and creativity simply arouse praise, and with examples like it people hope there can be steadily increasing public service at Harvard. Sabrina T. Peck '84, one of Citystep's founders, points out also that the organization involves students not normally dedicated to public service.

"The undergraduates involved in Citystep are not traditional public service enthusiasts," Peck says. "Designers, composers, musicians, actors, dancers generally work alone or among themselves and don't necessarily get a chance to work in the community with kids or with Cambridge residents. And the idea behind Citystep is to allow these individuals to pursue their artistic disciplines while at the same time contributing to the community."

In addition to bringing new students into community programs, Meisel says that one of the most important factors in public service's future is the defeat of what he calls "structural apathy." As long as the leadership, structure and challenge to students is strong, he says he believes public service will continue to grow. "I think the idea is to provide challenge and more challenge. HAND was designed to challenge students every day to join by going to the heart of student life, which is the dorm."

PBH's Barton echoes Meisel's concerns with maintaining structures designed to incite and challenge students. "Our work is all done within a context which provides for continuity and quality of programs to the community we serve, and this framework assures that this hands-on educational experience will be present for future students as well," she says.