In 2016, former Harvard President Drew Faust declared, “Diversity, inclusion, and belonging are not incidental concerns; they are fundamental to Harvard’s mission and identity.”
That fall, President Faust created a university-wide Presidential Task Force for Inclusion and Belonging, making clear that Harvard must prioritize cultivating campus belonging: “To realize the community’s full promise, and to foster the personal and intellectual transformation at the heart of our mission, we must also work affirmatively and collectively to advance a culture of belonging.”
In response to one of the recommendations made by the task force, Harvard piloted the Pulse Survey on Inclusion and Belonging in 2019. At the time, 74% of surveyed students agreed with the statement “I feel like I belong at Harvard.” When administered again in 2024, this number increased to 78% of surveyed students. A similar trend emerges for the statement “I feel like I can be my authentic self at Harvard” — in 2019, 68% of surveyed students agreed with this statement, while in 2024, 73% of surveyed students agreed.
While these numbers reflect meaningful progress in campus belonging, Harvard’s priorities have shifted since the second Trump administration began in January 2025. In two letters to Harvard’s administrators, the Trump administration threatened to withhold nearly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts if the university did not ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, amongst other demands. In response, on April 28, 2025, Harvard abruptly rebranded its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging to “Community and Campus Life.” In June, Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences discontinued the requirement of a diversity statement in its hiring processes. And the university ended its support for affinity graduations, stating that affinity groups would no longer receive “funding, staffing, or spaces for affinity celebrations.”
As a result of these institutional changes, formal support for cultural and affinity recognition has largely been eliminated. Yet student cultural and affinity groups continue to create spaces for expression and belonging, even as they adapt to new, often hidden challenges in today’s campus environment.
Results from the Harvard Political Review’s Fall 2025 Campus Poll highlight the role student groups, especially affinity groups, play in fostering campus belonging. Fifty percent of respondents indicated that they feel they belong to an affinity group on campus, with or without formal membership. Out of those respondents, nearly 58% believe that affinity group membership is “Important” or “Very Important” for their sense of belonging on campus. These numbers provide just the first layer of evidence for the value that affinity and cultural groups create as spaces for belonging on Harvard’s campus.
Student organizations are the backbone of campus social life, with students hosting hundreds of events and meetings each month. Perspectives from the Campus Poll highlight just how essential these organizations are to the student experience. When asked how often they engage in social activities with student groups on campus, 90% of respondents reported doing so either “Sometimes,” “Often,” or “Very Often.” Cultural and affinity organizations in particular play a central role in creating opportunities for social interaction and community-building on campus. When student groups are broken down by type, the “Cultural and Racial Initiatives” category is the largest — with 81 distinct groups — amongst the over 500 student organizations listed by the Dean of Students Office.
Cultural and affinity organizations are especially equipped to host events and celebrations that their members can identify with. In an interview with the HPR, the co-president of the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association (HUNSA), Nishtha Shah ‘28, says, “The major events that HUNSA hosts are mostly festival celebrations. We try to celebrate most important festivals together — the major goals are community building, spending more time together, celebrating festivals, and talking about the events that are happening in Nepal.”
Summer Sun ‘27, co-president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Chinese Students Association (CSA), also stresses the importance of events in connecting Chinese students on campus to their culture. “Our Social, Educational/Political, Sibfam, and Cultural groups [on CSA board] organize events — and I think together, this is really great for CSA because we have a good mix of social events, cultural events, and Education/Politics events for our general members to connect with.” These opportunities to gather as a community are important in remembering traditions and bringing a slice of home celebrations to campus life.
In addition to bringing traditional festivals and cultural events to campus, affinity groups provide a crucial dialogue space for students to discuss current events related to their identity or culture. When the Gen Z protests erupted in Nepal this past year, HUNSA hosted a teaching panel, where members “talked about what is happening — like an information session,” says Shah. Sun also mentioned the events that the CSA Educational/Political chairs host, including a fireside chat this past semester with former CSA president and current congressional candidate Eric Chung ‘14. This event focused on how identity and culture intersect with American politics and gave CSA members the opportunity to learn from a successful alum.
These events emphasize how cultural and affinity organizations forge a large cultural family not just on campus, but also amongst the greater Boston community that students can draw support from. For example, Shah says that HUNSA’s Tihar celebration this year included Nepali students from neighboring Boston schools. “Seeing our friends – some of them from other Boston universities — and eating good food while talking and dancing was really fun.”
CSA also engages with members outside of the Harvard community. This past semester, CSA piloted its first day of public service with a community cleanup in Boston’s Chinatown, partnering with Chinatown Main Street. Sun mentioned, “Thinking about our Chinese community at Harvard is extremely powerful in itself, but I believe always thinking beyond Harvard and thinking about how we can use our organization to help others is one of the most powerful things a cultural organization can do. I feel really lucky that we were able to do that this semester.”
The testimonies from Shah and Sun concur with the findings from the HPR’s Campus Poll: Cultural and affinity groups are essential in creating a sense of belonging on campus. While both acknowledge the difficulties that recent administrative changes have had on their groups, they remain optimistic and flexible as they seek to bring the best experience to their members.
Sun says, “It’d be wrong to say we haven’t felt any effects from the funding cuts because, for example, some of the grants we used to apply to just don’t exist anymore. In my freshman year, we hosted an event in collaboration with the Women’s Center, which no longer exists. And I believe the funding for an event we co-hosted with the Queer Students Association no longer exists.” Despite these setbacks, Sun strikes a note of optimism: “It’s sad, but it’s important [to remember] that we are still here and try to adapt and reach as many groups as possible. The adaptation comes from thinking about our general members and thinking about what events will make them feel more connected.”
Affinity and cultural groups have already demonstrated a strong ability to adapt to institutional change. Last May, when Harvard withdrew formal resources and funding for affinity-based graduation ceremonies, student leaders reached out to alumni, who were more than willing to support unofficial affinity ceremonies.
Ultimately, student groups have had to spend the past year adjusting to an altered funding and support network as the university undergoes a large upheaval of established institutions. While the university is facing a unique set of challenges, it is important that administrators continue to find a way to affirm students’ cultures and identities, whether that be through targeted programming from the new Office of Community and Campus Life or by informally promoting the work of student groups. But in the meantime, student leaders of affinity groups have embraced their duty to create a welcoming environment for their peers and continue to celebrate the cultural diversity on campus and in the broader Boston community.
As Shah says, “My co-presidents and I’s main goal is to bring together our Nepali community as many times as possible each semester so people feel grounded, and people feel like they have people from their own community and culture around. If you look at the broader picture of Harvard, there are thousands and thousands of students — it’s very easy to get lost. HUNSA has played a very important part [in helping us] feel like our culture is important enough to be celebrated.”
Associate Managing Editor
