When an abortive anti-war rally during the Gulf War attracted more camera-noting first-years than earnest anti-militarists, student politics past and present lamented: Campus politics at Harvard is not what it used to be.

Conventional wisdom dictates that partisan politics at Harvard is dominated by a large, vocal liberal majority. But while liberals might dominate the campus numerically, theirs is an increasingly salent majority--and conservative groups have taken their place to shape the direction of campus debate.

The change is difficult to notice at first. Activism during recent election campaigns, and membership in liberal student groups, seems to support the image of Harvard as a liberal bastion.

"Compared to the real world. Harvard is liberal," says Matthew J. Strong '95, president of the Harvard-Radcliffe College Democrats. "It's more of an ingrained type of thing."

"Even though there's a great conservative force here too, overall. Harvard is a more liberal school. It's a challenge to be a conservative here," agrees Karen E. Boyle '94, president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club.

During the fall presidential campaign, almost 1,000 people signed up to join the College Democrats, Strong says. "We had so many events during the campaign. We had hundreds of active members."

By contrast, the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club has about 100 dues-paying members, according to its president. Karen E. Boyle '94. Republican activism was not very high among Harvard students during the recent presidential election. Republican students admit.

"The fact was, people were not thrilled about campaigning for George Bush," says Thomas E. Woods '94, vice president of the Republican Club and an editor of Peninsula, a conservative journal.

But there's more to campus activism than election campaigns, and after Bill Clinton's November triumph, the College Democrats seemed to relinquish their active role. "People deal with campus issues through other groups. Campus issues don't really have a relation to the Democratic Party," Strong explains.

Today's Harvard liberal activists bear little resemblance, for example, to the 400 anti-ROTC protesters who in the spring of 1969 occupied University Hall and ousted several College deans from the premises.

The ROTC debate of the past two years--which focused on the ban on gays rather than on antimilitarism--was marked by no angry protesters, no well-attended rallies.

Although the ban's elimination was a primary point on Clinton's platform, the only group that took a vocal stand against Harvard's connection to ROTC was the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Students Association (BGLSA).

And whiie the number of conservative organizations seems to rise, membership in liberal groups is dwindling. The Progressive Students Association, once an active voice in the debate over divestment in South Africa, has only 12 members, according to its former coordinator, Gian G. Neffinger '93.

On campus issues, in fact, it is Harvard's conservative groups that use high-profile activities to dominate debate--and often, to define the agenda. Their liberal counterparts remain all but silent, relegated to a reactive position.

Activist Conservatives