Instead, Barrett--who is still aconsensus-builder--served on the Student-FacultyAdvisory Committee.

"I joined [an organization] that functioned tokeep the campus from blowing apart," Barrett says."The campus was not a carefree place."

Clarence Y. Lo '70, a friend and formerroommate, says many students criticized Barrett'sinvolvement on the committee.

"He got a lot of flak for it," Lo says. "Theradicals did not respect him at all."

While not directly involved in campus politics,Barrett says he pursued his political interests inthe classroom and in campaign offices.

"I worked to register kids to vote and get[President Lyndon B. Johnson] defeated by anotherDemocrat," Barrett says.

"[Barrett] was very interested in electoralpolitics when a lot of people felt electoralpolitics were useless," Powers says.

Barrett says he owes his political career toHarvard, but not because of his involvement incampus politics. Instead, his career has been mostaided by the personal connections he made here, hesays.

In the Class of 1970's tenth reunion report,Barrett credits his Harvard classmates forsupporting his campaign for the U.S. House ofRepresentatives, which was ultimatelyunsuccessful.

"For four months the campaign hummed along,thanks in part to the financial generosity of themembers of the Class of 1970," Barrett writes.

Barrett's friends say they did not expect thisyear's frontrunning Democratic candidate to makeit in politics because he was often too candidabout his political views.

"He is a person of such principle," Lo says. "Inever expected he'd get anywhere in politics--withmachines."

And Barrett did not actively talk aboutentering politics as a student, says Powers, whonow writes for The Boston Globe.

But Stephen K. Roddenberry '70, another ofBarrett's roommates, says that as a student, thestate senator was a typical politician.

"I always thought he would go into politics,"Roddenberry says. "He's an Irish political type."