Without limitations like those imposed by Proposition 209, Harvard can fill its first-year class with a good deal more freedom. And the University's faculty and administration, Noguera says, consider diversifying their ranks to be a priority.

"They are doing a lot to get things moving. It's not just where you would expect it--in African-American Studies--it's in traditional academic departments," he told the Daily Cal.

Harvard Graduate School of Education (GSE) dean Jerome T. Murphy agreed with Noguera's assertion.

"We at Harvard are making a concerted effort to diversify the student body, the faculty and the curriculum," he says.

But others are not so sanguine. Christopher F. Edley, Jr., a professor at the Law School since 1981, says he feels Harvard has met with limited success.

"My impression is the GSE is trying very hard," he says. "But there are serious problems. The law school, for example, not withstanding prominent African-American appointments, is in desperately bad shape with respect to other minorities."

Tawny S. Ochoa '01, vice-president of RAZA, Harvard's Latino student group, also has mixed feelings. While she praised Harvard's attempt to bring a diverse group of students to campus, she feels the effort may not go far enough.