"There are six teaching positions [in Summerbridge] that will no longer exist," Drogin said. "We form the core of the Summerbridge program in terms of curriculum and teaching."

Han said that because there are so many colleges in the area, Boston and Cambridge would feel the effects of a possible loss of funding more severely than other areas.

Hope in a Veto?

But community service leaders have not given up hope that a Presidential veto could lead to a compromise that would reinstate funding for the President's National Service Program.

"It is important to realize that Americorps has not been defunded yet," said Gold, the Program Coordinator for ACT "It's highly likely that there will continue to be funding for next year."

If the program were shut off from federal funding, Gold said that ACT would look into locating funding for a single year, and then try to "spin off" the program into another agency or a school. Cambridge Community Services, a program of which AC. is a part, has previously employed this strategy with some success. "Some of them do die," Gold said. "But some of them flourish."

The other possibility that Gold cited involved state support. "Massachusetts has a strong state network, and Americorps has received a lot of support from Governor Weld," Gold said.

Effects at Harvard

Regardless of what happen in Washington, the immediate effect on Harvard will be minimal.

Drogin said that even if Americorps is stripped of its funding, the legislation is not going to affect the students currently involved in the program this year.

Furthermore, Vincent Pan '95-'96, the President of Phillips Brooks House, said that since the PBH's application for Americorps funding was rejected this year, federal budget cuts would not directly affect its programming.

Oser said that "the effect on Harvard will be minimal because there is basically no linkage except for a pretty small group of students who have been involved with projects like ACT, Summerbridge, and City Year."

Nevertheless, Oser added that "the Senate vote to defund Americorps will reduce the opportunities of Harvard students to work in grassroots service projects and receive financial support for their work."

A Plea for Service

Mary Carol Stevens '95, the public service tutor in Lowell House, said she hopes students will continue to volunteer, whatever the outcome of the debate over federal funding of Americorps.

"Harvard students have a lot to give, even if the government doesn't," Stevens said. "Those who are willing to offer what they have, however little that may be, to someone who has even less will always be able to serve their communities--with or without the support of Congress."

Said Stevens, the Lowell House tutor: "In my experience it is not money that changes lives, but people who freely offer their time, genuine concern, energy and knowledge."