The board's mission and membership have yet to be finalized, but another four-hour planning meeting is scheduled for Sunday.

Were the board to include all of the major stakeholders in public service at Harvard, it could be given the power to fund-raise in order to allow PBHA to hire its own staff.

"I think that's definitely a goal that a lot of people have," Graustein said. "I think right now we're looking at what can best serve PBHA, and if that's what can best serve PBHA, we'll do that."

Ehrlich said that such a structure, emphasizing accountability and programming, might improve PBHA's standing the eyes of the administration.

"I feel that the College has been very dismissive of the student leadership of PBHA, and if such a structure will make the administration listen, so much the better," he said.

Anne L. Peretz, a member of PBHA's Association Committee, said yesterday that there are essentially three options for the future of PBHA.

"One is a sort of status quo, that is where Harvard hires the staff and calls the shots in terms at least of staffing patterns," Peretz said. "Another is a united board, [including all the major stakeholders]. Option three is that if students do not feel adequately represented and respected in terms of the decision making and things that they care about, they would go farther out, and that's not a desirable alternative either."

Peretz added that the second option, a united board, would provide checks and balances for all the key players in Harvard public service.

"I think that the fear has been that the College, in its effort to contain its budget and its concern for the education of students, has sort of shortshrifted a bit the interests of the community and the value of public service to the groups it serves," she said.

Administrative Rancor

Kidd, Lewis and Skocpol all said that they did not think a new board was the best choice for PBHA at this juncture.

Kidd said the meeting was well thought-out, but that now is not the time for a new board.

"I don't feel that this needs to be restructured at this time," Kidd said. "My feeling is that this is an issue that needs to be worked out cooperatively and cannot be mandated and changed through structure. The issue is not structure. The issue is trust and agreement on basic principles."

Skocpol said that while a new board is the students' decision to make, it is not something to be arrived at hastily.

"I do think that before one goes through a big structural reorganization in any organization, it's a good idea to take a pause and think, what's the real purpose of this, what would be gained by this," Skocpol said. "Consultants would be happy to take your money, lawyers will take your money. What will this achieve for what I thought was the purpose fall this, which is student-run social service programs?"