Following A Curious Precedent

When two dozen occupiers strolled out the creaky, green front door of Massachusetts Hall Wednesday afternoon, they ended Harvard's most stylish building occupation. It wasn't the longest--888 Memorial Drive, which was held for ten days last spring, provides a curious precedent--but the mood in the Yard, sustained through seven nights despite a biting damp, was one of unusual purpose and cohesion.

The exit also began the de-escalation of the most prolonged battle of memorandum and counter-memorandum in recent memory. In fact, the Administration issued its last statement--a terse, two-liner--within an hour of the evacuation. Administrators then niftily made themselves unavailable throughout Wednesday evening.

Communications opened up again on Thursday, as Daniel Steiner '54, general counsel to the University, explained the contempt citation which led ultimately to the occupiers' decision to leave Mass Hall.

But on the other side, Randall Robinson and Afro-PALC were mum about how exactly they planned to implement Robinson's vow to the Administration, "We're going to be calling on you again in two or three days." That one-liner raised more than one curious eyebrow among President Bok's staff as they prepared to re-occupy their offices Thursday.

The quiet from both sides presented a sharp contrast to the previous week. Memorandums "to the University community" had flowed steadily from the tenth floor of Holyoke Center, the Administration's headquarters in exile; responses from Afro-PALC, nestled in the Administration's usual headquarters, would follow in kind. Statements of support (Rep. Charles Diggs, Black Faculty and others for the occupation; the Faculty Council for the Administration) were interspersed.

But the thing that had most people talking was the Administration's strategic response to the occupation. Faculty privately called it "a level-headed, calm reaction"; many drew the inevitable comparison between Bok and his predecessor, Nathan M. Pusey '28. Others, notably the occupiers and their supporters, resented the Administration's refusal to discuss questions beyond the evacuation of the building; they termed the non-action strategy "calculated" and "steely."

As Afro-PALC reiterated their determination to hold Mass Hall until Harvard actually sold its Gulf stock, a predictable stalemate developed. Everyone waited for some dramatic new thrust by the Administration; yet, it became apparent that they were in no great hurry to move at all.

The notion that this occupation reflected drastically new attitudes in the Administration is somewhat shaky. Indeed, Archibald Cox '34, Williston Professor of Law and the University's original "troubleshooter" thought to be in retirement, was called back in to advise the Administration last Friday. And Tuesday, it was Cox and another old face--Michael Harrington of Ropes and Gray--who were dispatched to Middlesex Court to placate Judge Frank W. Tomasello when he demanded to know why Harvard was not moving more quickly to clear Mass Hall.

Cox plotted the University's course at 888 Memorial Drive, a ten-day wait, and Bok was President designate at the time. They only had to wait seven days at Mass Hall. It's just possible that we had all been through this before and didn't realize it.