In 1995, the ethnic studies movement attracted thousands of college students across the country. Harvard was no exception.

At the time, two student groups stood out in the fight for ethnic studies. One was the Ethnic Studies Action Committee (ESAC), a grassroots organization. The other was the group responsible for the 1995 concentration proposal--the Harvard Foundation's Academic Affairs Committee (AAC), which worked toward its goal by operating within the system.

After the 1995 effort petered out, the movement had a two-year lull. But then, in 1997, Michael K.T. Tan '01 and Nancy G. Lin '99-'00 decided they wanted to organize a revival. They worked on the Academic Affairs Committee to do so.

But one of Harvard's points of pride, its decentralization, became their main obstacle and was one of many factors eventually causing their effort to peter out, Tan said.

They paired concentrators with their departments, but Tan says it was a challenge for the students to familiarize themselves with individual department budgets, internal politics and individuals. And because there are so many departments, it was an even more daunting task.

"Everyone passes the buck," Tan says.

Tan adds he thinks it is more difficult to mobilize students around academic issues. Harvard's system and hiring practices make it difficult for students unaided by faculty or administrators to accomplish change.

"It's not like a public university, where there's that sort of accountability," Tan says.