Cambridge Commission May Challenge Final Clubs

A new Cambridge commission on human rights may investigate charges of discrimination in Harvard hiring practices and all-male final club admissions City Councilors said yesterday.

The Council Monday night established the commission, whose members it will appoint during the next several weeks, along with new rules against discrimination on a variety of bases, including sex and sexual orientation.

But officials remain uncertain whether the city would have authority to prosecute either Harvard or the clubs.

"I don't know what the law would be," if the commission found that the University discriminates, said Dean of the College John B. Fox Jr. '59.

Complaint

Councilors David E. Sullivan and Alfred E. Vellucci, who co-sponsored the ordinance with Councilor Alice Wolf, said they would bring the issues before the commission, but Velucci added students or faculty would first have to file a complaint.

Sullivan added that he thinks the final clubs might be subject to the ordinance because of the way it defines "public accommodation."

Virtually any building could be considered as accessible to the public and thus subject to the commission's rulings on any complaints, said gay activist Jonathan L. Handel '82, who helped write the ordinance.

Fox said that although Harvard adheres to all federal laws on discrimination and has a "complete and available system of complaint," he suspects some complainants will choose to take their cases to the city.

$300 Fine

The commission will have the power to fine educational institutions, employers, places of public accommodation and landlords up to $300 and sue in state court for additional penalties or injunctions.

Because no state or federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, however, the city would be the final authority for those cases, Handel said.

The council's 6-3 vote for the ordinance came several months after it was proposed. Handel said a similar Boston law passed this spring helped inspire the Cambridge rule.

Vellucci attributed the ordinance's delay to his "playing politics with the [Cambridge Civic Association]," a liberal group of four councilors, including Sullivan and Wolf.

Velluci finally moved for reconsideration of the ordinance at Monday's meeting, and the CCA members and Mayor Leonard Russell also voted for the measure.

Sullivan said he feels the law will be important because the similar state enforcement agency, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, is overwhelmed