But the action shows that regardless of whetherHarvard tried to or not, it was a leader--moraland practical--in developing financial aid policy.

Centering on Demand

One area where Harvard has not kept up with thecompetition is in the realm of the student center.

Most of the competition has built them. Thosethat haven't are planning extravagant buildingsfor students to meet, perform, eat, exercise andsocialize. But Harvard has no plans to build one,despite repeated student demands for one.

This spring, the Undergraduate Council made astudent center its rallying cry. After months ofcollecting information about the centers atschools such as Duke, the University ofPennsylvania and Brown, the council held an open"town meeting" where it presented its vision for acenter and asked students for theirs.

Convinced that the focus of student life atHarvard has shifted from the Houses to studentgroups, the council asked for a centralizedbuilding that would solve Harvard'swell-documented shortage of office, meeting andperformance space and facilitate communicationbetween various groups.

Despite the council's $25,000 pledge toward thecause and support from Epps, the proposal facesstrong opposition from Knowles and Lewis--the twoadministrators whose support is most crucial toits success.

"The proposal for a student center is notgetting the support from my colleagues that itneeds," Epps told The Crimson in May.

While acknowledging the need for more studentspace, Lewis has said he would prefer to free upspace for student groups in already-existingbuildings.

Epps admits that the College can be responsiveto student demands without constructing a newbuilding.

"We are renovating Holden Chapel, and are usinga new online management system for space," Eppssays. "There has also been talk of building a newperformance space. There has been a response tosome of the problems, but not within the contextof a student center."

While a major obstacle is finding the propertyand the resources to build such a center,administrative preconceptions have been theprincipal reason the council's grand dreams areunlikely to become a reality.

"I think we need more space for studentoffices, publications, rehearsal space...and anumber of other things that support educationallyvaluable extracurricular activities," Lewis wrotein an e-mail message. "But when I hear 'studentcenter,' I think of video games and pizza, which Idon't think we need."

"Dean Lewis and I have not favored acentralized student center (even if there were aplace to put such a thing)," Knowles added in ane-mail message.

It is unlikely that administration attitudeswill change, unless, as Tufts Director of StudentActivities Jodie A. Nealley predicts will happen,students begin to put more weight on theavailability of such facilities when choosing acollege.