The move to create Harvard College News, without any regard for its impact on student organizations, is symptomatic of what he says are the senior administration's persistent efforts to distance itself from the concerns of undergraduates.

A native Cantabridgian, Cohen grew up with his sister Rosie on Fayerweather St. He lived down the road from the home of President Derek C. Bok and was a friend of Bok's son Thomas. The son of an educator and a partner in a Boston law firm, Cohen fared well at the prestigious Buckingham Browne & Nichols school before Coming to the University.

Although he rarely visited Harvard Square and says he felt like a stranger when he first enrolled, the Harvard roots reach deep in his family. About 25 people on his mother's side have attended the University in the last century, he says.

For this reason, his sister was set on attending a school other than Harvard. She chose Brown, where she is a rising junior, an athlete and, according to her brother, " the next Char Joslin." Cohen's mother also teaches at Radcliffe, in the Expository Writing Program and at the Extension School.

Some of Cohen's peers say that his family heritage may have helped shape his political beliefs by giving him a sort of noblesse oblige that allows him to kick the administration when he believes it does something wrong.

But Cohen downplays his family's influence on his politics. "I try to put that out of my mind as much as possible," he says. And he admits that his family may be more important to his beliefs than he suspects.

Cohen's father died when he was returning to Harvard for his sophomore year, and he still has trouble talking about how the death affected him. After a long, thoughtful pause, he says, "As I got older, my father and I could talk more and understand each other's experiences."

"I've tried to think of his example, " he says, "When I've found myself in some situations--whether it was conscious or not. He was a very good man."

Cohen says his family remains close, even though he does not make it home very often. And he adds that he does not know whether his father's death has brought them closer together. "That's the funny things about families," he says. "The more you learn, the more confused you get."