Harvard's 268 student groups cover nearly every imaginable aspect of college life, often many times over. There are 23 organizations related to government and politics, 39 arts and performance groups and countless ones devoted to issues of identity.

But each year, students find new areas to address and new approaches to old ones, and 1999-2000 was no exception, with new groups formed to encompass topics ranging from jazz music to international politics to abortion rights.

These groups have faced a variety of challenges in their inception, but the founding members hope they have laid foundations this year to keep their groups going strong at Harvard long after they have graduated.

Filling a Void

To gain Harvard's official recognition of their group, students must find a mission that is not already served by an existing organization.

To this end, several groups attempted to meet an academic need they felt was going unaddressed in Harvard's curricula.

Harvard Fiction Workshop (HFW), for instance, has the same goals as Harvard's creative writing classes, but seeks to address the limited number of spaces available in those classes.

"As anyone who's attempted to do so knows, getting into one of the English department-run creative writing classes is often difficult due to the high number of applicants," says Jason F. C. Clarke '01, the new president of the organization. "The goal of the HFW is to provide an alternative to students wishing to work on their writing."

June T. Spector '01 founded the Harvard Undergraduate Chemistry Club (HUCC) to provide a forum outside the classroom where students could discuss relevant issues to the field of chemistry. She says the chemistry department has been very supportive of her efforts thus far.

"The administration, especially chemistry Head Tutor Jim Davis, was extremely supportive of our idea to start the club," Spector says. "Professor Davis was not only enthusiastic about the idea, but also helped us receive funding for various events from the chemistry department."

Many of the new student groups, though, took on causes in the community or nation, either from a service or political angle.

Wendy H. Liu '03 and Esther S. Yoo '01worked together to found Students for Healthy Babies, a group designed to "increase awareness about health issues," especially with young mothers.

"We've met the people from countless hospitals and health clinics," Liu says. "Looking back on the semester...we had events going on almost weekly."

Other groups, such as Students Against Institutionalized Slavery, which protested poor wages and labor conditions around the world, and the Harvard Right to Life Club, have taken on issues that have long been prominent on the national and international stages.

Yet others simply attempt to provide a community for students of similar background or beliefs.