If You Can't Join 'Em, Found 'Em

If Harvard is searching for the nation’s future leaders when it admits applicants, then perhaps it’s only natural for students to arrive at the College ready to start a new group, Illingworth says.

“We tend to admit people who were used to leading things,” he says.

And Smith, who founded or co-founded five groups in his time at Harvard, says the lifetime of a group shouldn’t be the primary concern.

“Though it is true that many groups and projects may not last the long term, I have yet to hear a good argument as to why this is a bad thing. If anything, college should be a time to try new things, make mistakes, and learn from them,” Smith writes.

But Assistant Dean and director of the Phillips Brooks House (PBH) Judith H. Kidd, who oversees all of PBH’s 80 public service programs, says she worries about the limited number of volunteers for existing groups as students continue to found new ones.

She says she explains her dilemma to students who seek her approval in starting a new community service group.

“In public service, we’re dealing with a limited number of volunteers and scarce resources. I try to get [students] to consider looking at other groups that do similar things, but rarely does this succeed,” Kidd says.

President of Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) Laura E. Clancy ’02-’03 says PBH includes many student groups that address the same issue—college preparation, for instance—but that they fail to collaborate.

“The University has to figure out ways to retain student autonomy but at the same time cultivate a culture of evaluation where students take a step back and think about their mission,” she says.

But Smith questions why student groups should be expected to remain the same from year to year—since the student body itself changes.

“Because the campus community is changing so rapidly [with] 1,600 undergraduates coming and going every year, I think it becomes less important and less sensible to have just a few sturdy organizations that people can volunteer for and move on from,” Smith writes.

Lindsay N. Hyde ’04, founder of Strong Women, Strong Girls, a self-esteem development program for girls in grades three through five, says that as long as students recognize a need for the new group, then the group warrants the College’s approval.

“One of the things everyone needs to be really aware of is whether there is a need for this group, how it will impact the people the group will be working with,” she says. “Had we looked around and said there are six other programs partnering elementary school girls with students, then it may have even been detrimental to found the group.”

I Will Survive