The College and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are imposing upon the Harvard public service program fundamental and controversial changes.

These changes are the result of a College report last fall that recommended creating a new position and a faculty committee to oversee Harvard's public service programs and organizations, the largest of which is PBHA (Phillips Brooks House Association), Inc.

But those closest to the public service programs--the students who work every day with under-privileged Boston communities, the alumni who advise PBH and the community activists who support PBH through their money and their time--say these changes, culminating in a search for a new assistant dean for public service, are misguided.

PBH has reached its highest point ever in its number of staff members, range of programs and student involvement, according to person after person interviewed.

And in light of uncontested increases in the services provided by PBH and the number of staff who volunteer, nearly every member of the Phillips Brooks House Association, PBH's student board, is asking the same question: If we aren't broken, why fix us?

Even the report recommending change conceded that its committee was "impressed by the range and variety of programs that have devel- oped under these structures, making Harvard'sinvolvement in public service a source of localpride and national recognition."

An Eye on Safety

One possible reason for administrators' suddeninterest in regulating public service may be astring of accidents involving the PBHA's vans lastsummer.

In the summer of 1994, PBHA began impeachmentproceedings against Harvetta E. Nero '96,secretary of its board of directors. She wascharged with three alleged violation ofassociation driving policy in the summer of1994--driving a PBHA van while uninsured,authorizing an uncertified driver to transportPBHA campers and ignoring the association's policyon insurance deductibles.

Nero and a number of other PBHA staffers wereinvolved in a series of accidents whichjeopardized the association's insurance policy.According to then PBHA President John B. king'96-'95, Harvard would not renew insurancecoverage of the approximately 18 vans PBHA rentsduring the summer without prompt action by theassociation's board.

After a four-hour emergency session, the PBHAcabinet voted not to remove Nero. In the wake ofthe driving infractions, PBHA passed a Newvehicles policy. According to the policy, PBHAdrivers found at fault in an accident in anassociation van since January 1, 1993 would havetheir certification revoked but could berecertified after two hours of classroom training,four to six hours of road training and successfulcompletion of written and road tests.

Nero's problem was only one of a series ofcases over the years that have pitted PBHA againstthe University administration. According to asource in PBHA, FAS administrators did not back upPBH Assistant Director Kenneth G. Smith's requestthat Nero be submitted to disciplinary action bythe Administrative Board. Many students in PBHAwished that the Ad board had taken action,according to the source.

Whether administrators turned their attentionto public service because of these high profileaccidents or whether they were primarilyinterested in streamlining the public servicestructure is a question of considerable debate.

Streamlining or Safeguarding?

When Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles wasasked why the college and the Faculty have paid somuch attention to changing the public serviceprogram, he pointed to the list of goals inAppendix 1 of the Maull-Lewis report on thestructure of the college.

Over the past decade, there have been at leasthalf a dozen such investigations of public serviceat Harvard.