31 New Student Organizations Debut this Semester

With the student activities fair in the rearview mirror and club comp processes in full swing, 31 new student organizations are embarking this fall on their first academic year as clubs Harvard College officially recognizes.

The organizations were among 38 groups that sought official recognition from the College last year, according to David R. Friedrich, associate dean of student life. Thirteen were approved in the fall, when five were deferred or rejected, and 18 were approved in the spring, when two were deferred or rejected. There are currently more than 400 recognized student groups on campus.

“Based on the context of limited space, time, and resources, we’re trying to help encourage the things that address an unmet need or interest, and push back on the things that are just going to duplicate what already exists,” Friedrich said.

The Committee on Student Life, which is composed of faculty and students, evaluated groups based on a rubric of 11 criteria, according to Friedrich. He said the rubric includes adherence to the University’s non-discrimination policy and demonstrated benefits for members and the campus at large.

Friedrich added that the process is more rigorous now compared to past years.

“When we look back over a 10-year period, five of those years we saw a tremendous increase in the number of student groups on campus,” he said. “But about the past five years, things have held pretty steady. And again, I think it gets back to this idea of balance, in the context of prioritizing academics.”

The approved groups vary widely in their focus, as well as their size. They include pre-professional, arts, and social justice organizations.

Harvard Fusian, a new East Asian-interest a capella group approved last spring, seeks to expand opportunities in a cappella, according to the group’s co-founder, Sindy C. Tan ’17.

“There’s a really big East Asian population at Harvard, where there are a lot of people who probably share our interests in K-pop and anime,” she said.

The group is holding auditions for five to six open spots next week, Tan said.

Gender Inclusivity in Mathematics is another student group approved the Committee approved last year. According to its co-president, Amanda K. Glazer ’18, the group aims to increase diversity in the Math Department, which includes primarily male concentrators and faculty.

Inspired by a survey from in 2015 revealing the gender gap issue, Glazer and co-president Vikram Sundar ’17 worked with Meena K. Boppana ’16 to form the group. They kicked off a speaker series focused on issues women face in mathematics last year.

Convrgency, a new student group that focuses on using virtual reality technology in the arts, is preparing for a showcase later this year, its president Connor Doyle ’19 said.

According to him, the group plans to use the showcase to demonstrate the potential for virtual reality to produce original media content, gauge interest in the club, and further strategize which applications of virtual reality the group will emphasize.

—Staff Writer Derek G. Xiao can be reached at derek.xiao@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekgxiao.