Harvard's ethnic and racial clubs often play dual roles on campus--they are both political organizers and social coordinators.

Choosing which role a club should play is no easy task. Limited funds and multifaceted memberships force club officers to tinker with their organizations' programming, searching for the perfect balance between social action and social interaction.

While few club leaders say that seemingly contradictory social and activist agendas cause direct conflict within their organizations, many officers admit they try to play the two competing concerns off each other to entice new members.

Whatever approach club officials take to unite students of common backgrounds and varying experiences, the social or political approach is always open to revision.

Asian Groups

These tensions are especially evident within the sprawling network of clubs for students of Asian descent.

While clubs like the Asian American Association (AAA) attempt to tie Asian-American students together under a banner of political activism, more nationally-specific groups like the Chinese Students Association (CSA), the Taiwanese Cultural Society (TCS) and the Korean Students Association (KSA) sacrifice potentially controversial politics for a comfortable social atmosphere.

Students say they often belong to AAA because of its political activism and because it represents their particular ethnicity.

With 1,270 students--nearly a fifth of the undergraduate population--on its mailing list, AAA stands as a juggernaut in Asian life at Harvard.

With the power provided by this vast membership, AAA's leaders say they have an acute sense of political responsibility.

Its 25-member steering committee organizes activities for the nearly 200 members who can be relied upon to attend at least one AAA event each semester.

Founded in 1976 with an agenda of social action, AAA has seen several of its steering committee members go on to prominent positions in Asian-American political life.

Steering committee member Jennifer 8. Lee'98, who is a Crimson editor, says the club is "rooted in political activism."

"It's a tradition that we try to preserve," she says.

In the past year, the club has attempted to make its membership politically aware by hosting a speaker or holding a panel discussion each month, according to co-president Sewell Chan '98, who is also a Crimson editor.