Despite the somewhat tepid response, organizers say they intend to press their grievances further. Tom, the MSA co-chair, said this week that the group will write a letter to parents of minority students to let them know about its concerns and ask for support.

The letter will state that parents should write to President Rudenstine to express their feelings about diversity issues, according to Tom.

The students will also launch a campaign to educate the Harvard community about their concerns. As part of this campaign, they will put up posters around campus with statistics about the number of faculty from different ethnic groups.

But while they have fewer participants than the Coalition for Diversity, this year's group of protestors is in some ways better positioned to make a long-term impact on University policy.

Tom said she is optimistic that minority organizations will work better together under the auspices of the MSA. Last spring's Coalition for Diversity faded a few months after its formation partly because the individuals who founded it had divergent agendas.

"One difference between the coalition and what we have this year is that we have...the MSA calling and facilitating meetings," Tom said, "whereas I heard the coalition had structural problems."