Yet, in 1998 the Census Bureau decided to allow individuals to check as many categories for race as they identify with on the 2000 Census. Hopefully, Harvard and many other societal entities chained to tradition will come to understand that due to the growing rate of interracial marriages, a substantial number of people can no longer only classify themselves as a member of a single ethnic group. This key demographic change must be recognized and the proper measures taken to incorporate the swelling ranks of multiracial individuals.

Even at Harvard, with its plethora of resources, multiracial and biracial students feel neglected. Caught in limbo between cultures and identities, they need a place to turn. The desire to celebrate and appreciate all the distinct components of their heritage is strong, but it is difficult without having a reliable support network.

A strong sense of cultural identity leads to more self-confident, better-adjusted students who can make a better contribution to the Harvard community. Isn't college supposed to expand personal horizons? Although Harvard claims that it is interested in helping students maintain a balance between self and studies, it is ignoring a significant part of the student body by not reaching out more to biracial and multiracial individuals.

Emerging organizations such as HAPA are definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully, more student organizations like it will develop sometime in the near future and fill a long-empty void in the College. Permitting applicants to identify with more than one racial group, instead of the "other" category, is perhaps the first step the University can take to create a more welcoming atmosphere for multiracial and biracial students. Students need to be encouraged to embrace all the separate and beautiful components of their heritage, instead of being subtly yet forcibly limited to just one.

Lorrayne S. Ward '03, a Crimson editor, lives in Canaday Hall.