Caps and Gowns

The senior class committee has voted unanimously to encourage students to wear the alternative gowns that the Coop is offering this month.

The class committee has written a letter to be distributed to all seniors later this week in a senior mailing package, Caryl E. Yanow '80, a class marshall and class committee member, said.

April 26 is the last day that the Coop will take orders for the alternative caps and gowns.

The class committee's action is the latest response to the controversy surrounding Harvard's traditional cap and gown supplier, Cotrell and Leonard. The Albany-based company is awaiting a May 27 hearing before the National Labor Relations Board on charges of unfair labor practices. About 35 of the company's 55 employees have been on strike since last August.

Anthony Harden, vice-president and general manager of Cottrell and Leonard, refused to comment about the class committee's decision, reached in a vote taken Monday.

James A. Argeros, general manager of the Coop, called the decision "unfortunate," adding, "I don't understand why a Harvard committee would want to take it unto themselves that the charges and allegations are proof of guilt."

McMillan Ward, manufacturer of the alternate gown, is a non-union company, Argeros said.