Class of 2001 Graduation Pledge

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

June 7, 2000, Wednesday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 689 words

HEADLINE: Students pledge not to forget social responsibility

BYLINE: By JUSTIN POPE, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: BOSTON

BODY:

The 1,676 Harvard seniors graduating this week have the world at their finger tips, especially if they're heading into the bustling and lucrative business world.

But 151 of them - many bound for high-paying jobs in finance and e-commerce - planned to don green ribbons along with their caps and gowns at Thursday's commencement, a reminder of a pledge that no

matter how far they go in corporate America, or wherever they find themselves, they won't forget about social and environmental responsibility.

Harvard is one of about 50 schools where at least some graduating seniors have taken the pledge, which reads "I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work."

The pledge began at Humboldt State University in California in 1987, and is now loosely organized nationally at Manchester College in Indiana by psychology professor Neil Wollman. Students at Tufts University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University have also taken part.

With six-figure salaries and stock options dangling in front of many Harvard graduates, it's easy be cynical and assume the pledge will quickly be forgotten, says English major Sinead Walsh of Dublin, Ireland, who led the Harvard effort to recruits tudents. And in many cases it will, she says. But Walsh, who will spend next year working with children in India, says many students feel guilty by taking those jobs, and she refuses to believe corporate life necessarily means giving up everything you believe in.

"A lot of our students do do investment and consulting," said Walsh. "I had a really big problem with this dichotomy between going into finance ... and Wall Street kind of jobs, and the idea that you can be a socially and environmentally responsible person."

Walsh says Harvard student organizers want the pledge to be more than a feel-good, one-time gesture and have taken concrete steps to help it stick. Students will receive wallet cards and advice books with tips on how to live responsibly.

The books include information about company foundations and volunteer opportunities at popular employers. Students will also get city guides for popular destinations like New York and San Francisco

that include everything from where to give blood to where the nearest toxic waste dump is.

"There is a middle ground between these jobs that are not considered public service and being a socially and environmentally responsible person," Walsh said. "Our aim was to show them nitty-gritty, practical ways that they can walk on that middle ground."

This year, Harvard students also had to attend seminars to be included. The requirements brought down the number of students taking the pledge to 151 from 271 last year, the first year it was tried at the school, but Walsh says the number means more because the 151 have showed they're serious.

"This year, it seems like there's a chance it could really work well," said Sam Erman, an English major from Ann Arbor, Mich., who plans to work at the Kalchas Group, a consulting firm, in New York next

year.

Wollman concedes many who take the pledge quickly forget it. But he says many don't forget, and points to former Manchester student Christine Miller, a chemist who declined to work on a project she was afraid ight be used for immoral purposes and later changed jobs.

"After I left that company, when I was looking for a new job, I kept that pledge in mind," said Miller, who graduated in 1990 and now lives in Sturgis, Mich. "I wanted something more in line with my values."

Walsh and Wollman said they also hope the pledge will show companies that social and environmental responsibility matter to the students they want to recruit.

"If these companies lose one or two of their top Harvard recruits over these social and environmental responsibilities ... I think they would seriously reconsider what opportunities they do provide," Walshsaid.

On the Net:

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pbh/gradpledge

http://www.commencement.harvard.edu

GRAPHIC: With AP Photo

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: June 8, 2000