"Harvard College lacks a unifying vision for what kind of students it wants to produce," says Beth A. Stewart '00, out-going council president. "Part of the outgrowth of the lack of a mission is there is just no community on campus."

Stewart says she believes the administration has further damaged the sense of community at Harvard by randomizing the Houses.

"Randomization has shifted community from House life to student groups, which is unfortunate because student groups are somewhat homogenous," she says.

But Driskell stresses that while her campaign appealed to students alienated by randomization, her goal was not to recreate the old House communities.

"In the wake of randomization, the Houses have lost their personality. At the same time, what the Houses were, is that a community?" she asks.

Driskell stresses that students want a campus-wide community, something the House system did not provide.

Council Efforts Fall Flat

In the past, the council's efforts to foster campus-wide spirit have been few and far between. And the attempts the council has made have failed stir students' enthusiasm.

"People seem to have a problem with the U.C.," says Dorothy E. Johnston '02, who led the first year contingent of the King campaign. [They] think that the U.C. is out of touch with the student body."

The council has tried to organize social events in the past, such as the poorly attended "Loker Night," but Stewart says that council has never had much success with social planning and has restricted itself to Springfest in the recent years.

This council also eliminated national politics from its agenda under Stewart's administration, a change, she says, which may have made the council less inspiring.

In the past, "the council came to be energized by progressive politics. Our term didn't have that same energy," Stewart says. "Some people felt that we needed a more cohesive statement, and the community message might have been an outgrowth of that."

King says his platform offered the council a broader, community-based purpose.

"The U.C. won't be inspiring until there is an overarching vision for the whole organization," King says. "It needs to involve more people in the process."

Questioning Community