"That's really what starts our thought process," she says.

According to Cooke, the question then is, "Can we work creatively within what's available to open up space?"

When administrators of several campus choirs vacated a small office in Thayer, Cooke did some reshuffling. She moved the International Students Council (ISC), which plans an annual business conference in Switzerland, from its spacious Holworthy office to Thayer. Diversity & Distinction magazine then moved into the ISC's former Holworthy haunt.

Sharing is Caring

With Holworthy and Thayer nearly bursting at the seams, such office reshuffling is rare. Resourceful students have, however, found alternative solutions.

A few groups have taken to sharing their unused office space with others. For instance, Demon magazine, Digitas and the Harvard Salient all share an office in Thayer, as do the Asian American Association (AAA) and South Asian Association (SAA).

While the Dean's office never forces groups to share space, Epps and Cooke both acknowledge that groups that rarely use their space have been asked to share with another group.

"It's sort of shoehorning, asking groups to share [space]," Epps says. "We would never force people to share."

Placing multiple groups in the same office, however, can actually reduce the utility of the space.

Jenny I. Shen '01, AAA vice president, says the group's shared office space is too small to be very effective.

"We have talked about trying to find more office space because it's very cramped," she says. "There's a desk, a bookcase, some chairs and a table, and there's no room to walk."

A Political Process?

With no official waiting list and the power to grant office space resting in the hands of Epps and Cooke, a few student groups have told The Crimson they believe that the two administrators play favorites. These groups have declined to speak publicly about their suspicions for fear of jeopardizing their own chances of obtaining space.

Meanwhile, Epps says he gives preference to racial groups.

"I tried to provide for groups of color in Holworthy and Thayer," he says.

Several groups devoted to minority issues and constituencies--including the Black Students Association (BSA), the Minority Students Alliance and the Harvard Foundation--all have offices in Yard basements.

Members of the Harvard Computer Society (HCS), whose organization provides e-mail and Web space for student organizations, believe that Epps gave them space because of their usefulness to the campus.