"We're basically questioning the skewed value structure in place at Harvard and in society," Shah said.
The petition does recognize some efforts have been made to increase the resources devoted to the school, such as the use of money from President's Discretionary Fund for the GSE.
Members of the group have met with Rudenstine and found him sympathetic, according to Shah.
But Harvard's central administration controls only limited resources, and in order to get significant increases in resources for GSE, money controlled by other schools would be needed. This is the motivation behind student's demand for representatives from all schools to be committee members.
The petition and students also recognize the school is a leader in education, even with the current resources.
"We feel the school has served us well with the resources we do have," Shah said. But Shah said organizers see the potential to do even better with more resources.
The petition drive is running through May 11. Students are asking Rudenstine for a response to their concerns by May 26.