Conference Emphasizes Social Responsibility

This weekend, students searching for professional role models in public service careers had a great place to look--the Careers and Social Responsibility Project (CSRP) at the Institute of Politics.

CRSP brings together students and practitioners in the hopes of providing role models for those who find traditional Harvard career paths, such as consulting and investment banking, to be morally unfulfilling careers, according to conference planners.

"Students really want to do some-thing that they consider socially responsible. They want role models," said Katherine A. Rabb '97, who was primarily in charge of organizing the conference.

The organizers said their inspiration for the project grew out of the realization that the Office of Career Services recruiting forum, held each fall, offered few choices for public service-minded students.

"A couple of us were going through the Harvard career forum and noticed that what was represented was traditional careers, like investment banking. There was no fighting violence in urban areas or anything like that," said Jomo A. Thorne '97, another of the conference's organizers.

About 50 students spent yesterday visiting 17 different workplaces around the Boston Area to see what life is like for those who choose socially responsible careers.

Students could choose to visit sites in medicine and science, law, business, academia or non-profit administration.

Many participants said the experience opened their eyes to new areas or reshaped their thoughts on traditional career paths.

"Here's an area where you hear only negative things," said Greg David '99, who visited the Boston law firm Hale Dorr and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office yesterday. "They're doing lots of pro bono work."

Lucia Jennifer Paredes '97 said her visit to North Quincy High School strengthened her intention to pursue a career in education and made her less skeptical of the validity of "socially responsible" careers.

Students had an opportunity to discuss their reactions to the site-visits at a dinner last night with Marshall Ganz '64-'92, a longtime labor organizer and civil rights activist who is working on a Ph.D. in sociology.

Ganz, who teaches a Harvard course on community organizing, spoke about his experiences working with agricultural activist Cesar Chavez and other prominent agitators. He urged the students to seek their own career paths, rather than following the ones society prescribed.

Conference organizers hope that exposure to adults who have successfully combined ethical principles with a career will encourage students to do the same.

"Harvard has a very self-centered, me-first culture," said Lisa D. Graustein '97, who plans to teach middle school after graduation this spring. "It's a real challenge to blend the sta- tus-based success that Harvard offers with other kinds of success."

In addition to the site-visits, the conference will also include a panel discussion this morning on choosing a career.

Moderated by Board of Overseers President Renee M. Landers '77, who works in the general counsel's office of the Department of Health and Human Services, the panel will feature Sydney Jones, executive director of Human Rights Watch/Asia Watch; Harriet Rabb, general counsel of HHS; Robert Reichauer, a senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution; and Barry Zuckerman, head of pediatrics at Boston City Hospital.

Mary Jo Bane, a former social policy adviser to President Clinton and now a professor of public policy at the Kennedy School of Government, will give a keynote address. Former Cambridge Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 will also speak

In addition to the site-visits, the conference will also include a panel discussion this morning on choosing a career.

Moderated by Board of Overseers President Renee M. Landers '77, who works in the general counsel's office of the Department of Health and Human Services, the panel will feature Sydney Jones, executive director of Human Rights Watch/Asia Watch; Harriet Rabb, general counsel of HHS; Robert Reichauer, a senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution; and Barry Zuckerman, head of pediatrics at Boston City Hospital.

Mary Jo Bane, a former social policy adviser to President Clinton and now a professor of public policy at the Kennedy School of Government, will give a keynote address. Former Cambridge Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 will also speak