"We're also hoping to take a more intellectualapproach," Chong adds.

Different Motives

Students for a Democratic Society's (SDS)motive in taking over University Hall was tocreate a catalyst for revolution, says Frank D.Raines '71, who was chair of the Student-FacultyAdvisory Committee. But he says this is not themotive for today's protests.

"They sought out confrontation because theythought [it] would lead to revolution," Rainessays. "There is no group on campus anymore whosepurpose is to seek confrontation."

Bryant says the lack of confrontation in recentprotest exists because students today are "lessprone to violence."

Epps says he believes students of the 1990s aremore practical than those of the 1960s and 1970s.

"Harvard students want to solve problems in apragmatic way," says Epps, who was assistant deanof students during the occupation of 1969.

Communicating Concerns

Current student leaders say the purpose ofstaging protests is not to create widespreaddisruption, but rather to inform both students andadministrators of campus issues.

"I favor protests that raise the issuesimportant to me in the forefront of other people'sminds like the faculty and administration, ratherthan bullying the administration into makingdecisions they feel are under duress," Chong says.

The protest is not the end all," Ali says "it'sa tool to gain a footing or to create a door toenter conversation."

In the spring of 1992, Ali organized the BSA ina protest of institutional racism on campus,door-dropping flyers titled," On the HarvardPlantation." Ali also mobilized the Coalition forDiversity for its March 1993 protests.

And using protest as a tool has helped not onlyto enlighten administrators, but also to informstudents about the concerns of their peers.

"There are a lot of uniformed students outthere," says Jennifer Ching '96, co-chair of theAsian American Association.

Student leaders add, however, that they walk afine line between being informers and being anantagonist when choosing how to protest.