NAC Compensates A Riot Victim

The November Action Coalition (NAC) will reimburse Harvey Crospy, a newspaper-seller in Harvard Square, for damages suffered during Wednesday night's riot.

A firebomb destroyed about 700 newspapers worth $70-almost a week's profit for Crospy-late Wednesday night.

At a Sunday night NAC meeting, Miss Jesse Gill, a member of the Mt. Auburn St. Tenants' Union, suggested that NAC reimburse Crospy. NAC passed the hat and collected over $32.

The rest of the money will be collected at a later meeting, David C. Plotke '71, a NAC member, said yesterday.

Crospy received the money on Monday with a note which read: "This is from the NAC to partially pay for the damage done during the riot. We hope to be able to get the balance soon. Sincerely, NAC."

"Because we planned the march all the way to Harvard Square and somebody was stupid enough to firebomb those, newspapers, in a sense we feltresponsible," Michael Kazin '70-3, a member of NAC, said yesterday.

"In a riot sometimes people who shouldn't be hurt are hurt, and Crospy's one of them," he added.

"I really appreciate this," Crospy said yesterday. "A poor guy like me selling papers, what can he insure? You just have to grin and bear it."

"It was supposed to be a peace march," he added. "Breaking personal property does more damage than good. It just hurts their cause. If you've got a legitimate beef someone will listen. The general public is more willing to listen now than when I was young. And I'm no chicken!" Crospy is 52.

Out of Town Newspapers, Inc., the big newsstand in the Square, was among numerous stores which suffered damage during the riot but were not compensated by NAC. "Almost every shop that was hit. Wednesday night is run by people who are far from poor," Kazin explained.