Jeff Hauser '95, former CLUH assistant director of general affairs, says the organization was at its strongest in 1993-94 and then began declining the following year.

"We had succeeded on a number of issues," Hauser says, "so there were core issues that no longer required [CLUH to take] action."

"The group split over what issues to pursue," Hauser says. "For instance, certain people wanted to deal with Radcliffe discrimination, or were against affirmative action, while others disagreed."

He says the membership decline is partly the result of a reduction in the general activist role that CLUH used to play.

"The group became less interested in pursuing national issues," Hauser says. "They felt that doing work with the ACLU was not as productive; that curtailed the number of issues the group could deal with."

"People became interested in the group when they would see issues that they felt strongly about. In the last few years the issues have become less rampant, and there has been less of a need for an organization of this nature," Hauser says.

But CLUH has a strong core of members, according to E. Michelle Drake '97-'96 and other former directors of the organization.

"Typically there has always been a core group most devoted to the issues," Silversmith says. "The core group was often the most important."

Some CLUH officers say that the nature of the organization is such that a large membership is neither necessary for, nor an indication of, the success of its agenda and projects.

"CLUH doesn't have to be big," McLachlan says. "It is not exclusive, but you need just enough people to write letters and meet with administrators."

"The things that we have accomplished are ones for which you don't need huge mobilizations and petition drives," Drake says. "Often talking to the right people and getting on the right committees is all you need."

McLachlan and other officers who have dealt extensively with the administration say that the small size and behind-the-scenes existence of CLUH often work to its benefit.

"If we are too big we can't have a relationship with the University without it being a public relationship," McLachlan says. "When we make too much noise, we tend to make things more difficult for us."

And CLUH officials emphasize the organization's smaller size does not mean CLUH is no longer important.

"The declining membership is obviously an issue and it is definitely a big deal, but it's not like CLUH no longer has a voice on campus," Drake says.