"It's a young department which grew up in a time of stringent budget constraints," says Bakanowsky. "It reached adolescence but never matured." But he adds that the department could be strengthened by major appointments in all three subject areas, as well as the development of a fellowship program.

VES receives nearly 50 applications for the 35 openings in its sophomopre class, but Bakanowsky says the department has no plans for expansion. Instead, Bakanowsky, who teaches the two Core Curriculum courses offered by the department and believes that "the arts belong to everyone, not a select few," says that the department goes out of its way to reach out to non-concentrators. Consequently, some 1300 of the 1600 annual spots in the department's courses are filled by non-concentrators.

But the most popular classes, photography and film-making, are "really hard to get into if you're not in the department," says Katherine M. Howell, who works in the Cafe Corbu located in the lobby of the Carpenter Center. VES 50, "Fundamentals of Filmmaking," only accepts 20 students from more than 65 applicants

Wolf acknowledges that the concentration is somewhat "cliquey". Howell, who says that the food at her cafe is the best on campus and that the lobby exhibitions at the Carpenter Center are very interesting, also says that "the people who hang out here are chic, chi-chi--they see themselves as artistes."

But concentrators and faculty are quick to downplay such stereotypes. "I think diversity in general is a myth at Harvard, but pretty much true for VES," says Huidor. Abrams agrees, noting that "there is a very strong acceptance of individuality [in the department] and taking people for who they are rather than crunching them into molds."

"VES is a holistic process--academic, emotional and spiritual," says Abrams. "It's not just a concentration, it's a lifestyle."