The second anthropological truth about Harvard students is that we are abnormally individualistic. "I" is the prevailing pronoun; "independent" is the most valued adjective; and "Personal Agenda" has become a proper noun. Believe it or not, at other normal colleges, people do not make lunch dates to see their friends; they just hang out.

Of course, the individualism to which we have grown accustomed will probably become a lifelong habit. Now we rush from a seminar, to the library, to a meeting, to a party, to another meeting--there are a lot of meetings here. Someday soon we will run from the boardroom, to the gym, to day care, to the PTA meetings--and end up at the shrink.

This intrinsic individualism would predict, then, that a sense of community responsibility would be put on hold or even forgotten as students try to juggle their own busy, stressed and over-committed lives.

So the widespread community service involvement of Harvard students is a welcomed surprise. It seems that students prefer affecting change at the micro-level, in a hands-on, feel-good manner. Mentoring a disadvantaged child, for example, strikes many of us as more meaningful than supporting a candidate who promises to change educational programs for that child.

Sociologists have accused our generation of college students of being politically apathetic. At Harvard, political activism might be out of style. But all of the potential lobbyists, demonstrators, letter-writers, and strikers have not retired, they have only changed tactics, leaving the steps of University Hall for schools, prisons, soup kitchens and far-flung neighborhoods.

Less whining and more real doing. If Harvard student behavior is indicative of any larger, national or global trends (Harvard loves setting trends) then, the nature of political activism and social activism might have changed. The term "activism" itself might even have become an anachronism.

For the present, at Harvard, serving the community is the primary activity. As we continue committing to community service, the mind-boggling numbers of service organizations on campus will beg the question: Which community will we choose to serve?

"The Active Voice" winds down this week but "activity" at Harvard will surely continue. Thank you to the readers, the campus activists, the campus cynics, and the subjects of my scrutiny for their help during the past year. As the ideas expressed through this column were largely conceived during dinnertime discussions, I would like to thank the Cambridge Girls (and their groupies) for their inspiration.