At Harvard College, there is "every type of group imaginable for every type of person imaginable," says Olivia D. A. Fields '93.

Among such groups are those which cater to minority students--groups which provide important social and support networks. And the roles they play are as diverse as the student body they serve.

Sometimes, the services they provide are perfectly mundane. The Undergraduate Council this year offered bus service to New Haven for the Harvard-Yale game. Black and Jewish students on campus had other options: a Black Students' Association (BSA) bus and a bus sponsored by Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel.

Other times, the groups serve as specialized magazine publishers. Diaspora deals with issues of concern to Black students. Mosaic is a magazine about Jewish issues. Korean-Americans founded Yisei, "the Korean cultural and literary magazine at Harvard," and Chinese-Americans have a special forum in East Wind. Do minority students read each others' magazines? And do white students read minority magazines?

The groups also serve as patrons of the arts. In addition to singing and acting with the rest of the community, Harvard Jews and Blacks have their own singing groups and their own drama groups.

Finally, minority communities serve as social scenes. The Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Students Association (BGLSA) has its own dances, as does BSA and the Asian American Association (AAA).

The proliferation of ethnic and racial groups has led to what University of California at Berkeley sociologist Troy Duster has called "the Balkanization of the university." Each group wants its own building, its own programs, its own dances, even its own a capella singing group.

Duster notes, however, that while Hillel and the Newman Foundation for Catholic Students have been around for years, "it's only when we get people of color doing this that we begin to talk about Balkanization."

The contemporary university, then, may be something like an old-time American city. If ethnic organizations serve as neighborhoods, then the Chinese Students Association might be San Francisco's Chinatown, Hillel is New York's Lower East Side and the newly formed Italian American Association is Boston's North End.

Why do some people choose to live in ethnic neighborhoods, and why do others avoid them? Why do some Harvard students join organized minority groups, and why do others steer clear?

Mario F. Delci '94 says that "even in the minority community, [there are] two different groups: those who are active, and those who aren't."

"Both sides will list lots of reasons," Delci says. "It's their choice."

Those who choose not to get involved list a variety of reasons, from personality of the individual to reputation of the group.

For Ronetta L. Fagan '94, who is Black, it was a simple question of character. "I've never been sort of a group joiner," she says.

Other times, there are no reasons other than the obvious. "I just didn't feel the need to be in the group," says Asian-American student Edward C. Yim '94. "I didn't feel the need to surround myself with Asians all the time."