Many proponents expect a center to improve life not only for minorities but also for the campus as a whole.

"It would help minority students a lot if non-minority students who are interested in minority issues were at vigils or events," says Laila F. Sahyoun '94, former president of Harvard's Society of Arab Students.

"I think it would be completely inclusive," LaO chair Julia M. Reyes '94 agrees. "It wouldn't be specific to the different groups."

"It would be a resource for the whole school," says Cortes.

College Administration Is Skeptical

As the groundswell of support for a minority students center increases, College administrators remain skeptical. The issue of a multicultural center has been in and out of the spotlight of campus politics for almost 30 years. In the past the Black Students Association has pushed for a "Third World" students center or an African-American cultural center, but the University has steadfastly refused to support the plans.

In 1982, a College-commissioned committee led by Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Rev. Peter J. Gomes, scuttled proposals for a Third World students center, claiming it would polarize the campus environment and undermine the College's House system as the intellectual and social centers on campus.

In recent years College administrators have cited the Gomes report as the main reason not to have a center. Minority student leaders interviewed for this article named Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III, the official coordinator of the College's race relations programs, as a strong opponent of a center. Epps declined to comment.

Because of long-standing opposition from the administration, minority student leaders worry that the campaign for a center will be a long, drawn out battle that will continue to be fought long after they graduate.

"Frankly, if the College administration holds the posture that it does hold, I think it will be totally dependent on the students and it would take longer to materialize, because as students we have academic concerns and we're only here for four years," Ali says.

But as the College continues its efforts to study how to improve race relations at Harvard, it appears that any proposal is fair game--even a minority students center.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 expresses concern that a multicultural center would polarize the campus along racial and ethnic lines.

"A lot of people felt in fact that it was good to have programs and activities which brought people together instead of pulling them apart," Jewett says, noting that the houses have traditionally formed the basis of student activity.

Jewett says that the issue extends beyond the demands of the Coalition or of individual minority groups.

"We haven't supported a physical center apart from the houses for any group. It's not just minority groups," he says, citing both women's groups and gay and Jesbian groups.