Taking Affirmative Actions

In response to what protesters called Harvard's "insufficient" commitment to affirmative action, students from most schools in the University this week took some affirmative action of their own.

Using the controversial preliminary report on Harvard admissions commissioned by President Bok as a springboard, more than 200 students rallied in the Yard Tuesday, unexpectedly marching through University Hall and gathering in front of Massachusetts Hall, where they heard protest leaders threaten to occupy the building unless Bok agrees soon to a set of eight demands.

Four of the demands addressed what demonstrators termed the generally "inadequate" commitment of the University to the needs of women and Third World students at all levels.

The other four demands referred specifically to the report, which suggests that high test scores often overpredict the academic performance of Black and women students at top universities. The list of demands asks Bok to denounce the report.

The day before the rally, Bok sent a letter to The Crimson urging "the Harvard community not to place any weight on" published quotations from the report--prepared by Robert E. Klitgaard '68, special assistant to Bok.

But at the rally, students described Bok's letter as an "insufficient" and "very inadequate" response. Lydia P. Jackson '82, president of the Black Students Association, said, "No matter how sorry he (Bok) is, the damage is done and the lives of minorities have been dramatically affected."

Rally leaders called Tuesday's demonstration a "warning." Steven Brusch, a second-year law student, standing under a steady drizzle in front of Massachusetts Hall, said, "Next time--and there will be a next time unless our demands are met--we're going to take this building."

The next night, Brusch and other law students protested outside a discussion on affirmative action featuring Albert M. Sacks, dean of the Law School, and Nancy Randolph, special assistant to Bok.

Randolph reacted to the Klitgaard report this week by saying, "It's unfortunate that he editorialized around the data before he completed his analysis."

Constance Rice '78, an admissions officer who attended the rally, couched her reaction in stronger terms. "You cannot quantify the admissions process and then extrapolate to make conclusions about policy with any accuracy. Klitgaard forgot one number--300. That's the number of years minorities have been oppressed here."