But this year has witnessed a marked decrease in ethnic studies activities among students. This semester has seen only two sparsely attended panels and one weekend conference on ethnic studies. And a junior parents' weekend rally for ethnic studies was not as vocal or as well-attended as in previous years.
Students activists have done a poor job of keeping the issue in the spotlight. They need to hold a rally at least once a semester. They need to keep up petition drives, pass out flyers, hold more meetings, panels, rallies and do anything to make sure administrators regularly see ethnic studies in the news.
The third step is to gain the support of Faculty members. Faculty members have much more clout in this University than students and if Faculty members could be convinced to fight for an increased commitment to ethnic studies, they would be much more likely to produce results. But even more importantly, it is the Faculty that must vote to approve an ethnic studies department or the recommendations of the Ethnic Studies Committee. Without support from the Faculty, Harvard will never increase its commitment to ethnic studies.
Student activists have worked to gain support from Faculty members, in particular, convincing some noted scholars from the Afro-American Studies Department to endorse their conferences on ethnic studies. However, these activists need to go farther. Last week, the Faculty Council elected six new members to serve for the next three years. Students should meet with these Faculty members and explain why they think Harvard needs to increase its commitment to the study of ethnicity.
Finally, and perhaps most important, student activists must take Jerry Maguire's "Show me the money" to heart. Even at Harvard, which has the largest endowment of any university, change is often controlled by money. And donors to Harvard have the ability to specify exactly where their donation may go. Even if Knowles is opposed to tenuring a professor who specializes in the study of ethnicity, he would not likely turn down a donation earmarked specifically to establish a chair in ethnic studies.
Thus, students must turn to alumni to seek donations specifically for the purpose of increasing Harvard's commitment to ethnic studies. Granted, it is difficult for students to convince alumni that ethnic studies is a cause worth giving to when Knowles is not saying the same thing, but that money will be the root of any real change.
Students could contact all donors who have given money to Harvard in the last 10 years and ask that they donate money specifically for ethnic studies, or put an advertisement in Harvard Magazine, which is distributed to all alumni. Perhaps students could get one of their Faculty supporters, such as Skip Gates, to write an article in the magazine or a letter to alumni asking them to donate money to establish a professorship in ethnic studies.
A similar situation can be found among those who are seeking to withhold money from the University unless they hire more women and minority faculty. But soliciting money for the cause of ethnic studies would be an easier task because alumni can earmark donations for a specific discipline, but not for a professor of a given race or gender.
These four steps will be difficult to accomplish and will require a lot of work on the part of those activists who want to increase Harvard's commitment to the study of ethnicity. But I believe each of these steps is necessary for Harvard to further the study of ethnicity and to establish the permanent study of ethnicity at this University.
Douglas M. Pravda was the Managing Editor of The Harvard Crimson in 1996.