Alumni Complaint With State Calls Overseer Election Illegal

Four alumni have filed a complaint with the state attorney general seeking an investigation of this year's Board of Overseers election. The complaint charges that the University illegally tampered with the election and that University President Derek. C. Bok committed fraud.

The complaint, filed last Wednesday, comes two months after Overseers President Joan T. Bok '51 wrote a letter to all alumni cautioning them against voting for a trio of candidates running on a divestment platform. It was the second complaint against Harvard's handling of the overseers contest to reach the attorney general's office.

"This is preliminary to a law suit," said one of the complaint's authors, second-year law student and Harvard Law Review President Adam S. Cohen '84. Cohen said that his group will likely sue Harvard for unfair election practices if the three divestment candidates lose.

The candidates, Kenneth H. Simmons '54, John T. Plotz '69, and Gay W. Seidman '78, all of Berkeley, Calif., said they support the contentionss in the complaint and also plan to take Harvard to court if they lose their bids.

Unlike the other 10 candidates, who were nominated by a committee of alumni, the divestment candidates petitioned to have their names placed on the ballot.

Joan Bok's letter, which was mailed to alumni along with the overseers ballots, has prompted widespread protest from alumni who have criticized it as an inappropriate attempt to influence the election's outcome. The Harvard administration staunchly opposes divestment from companies doing business in South Africa.

"In general, Harvard's comportment in this election, as the record clearly shows, makes a mockery of the principles of fair play and procedural integrity required of public charities in the state ofMassachusetts," the complaint says.

The attorney general has the power toinvestigate the actions of public charities suchas Harvard and ensure their compliance withinternal bylaws. Attorney General Francis X.Bellotti's office will now look into the electionand determine if an investigation is necessary,spokesman Lisa Capone said.

The eight-page document makes five specificcharges of illegality, which would likely becomethe main issues in a lawsuit. They are:

.That Harvard included in the official electionpacket a "blatantly biased letter" which attemptedto tamper with the democratic process. The lettersaid the "specific issue" campaigns wereinconsistent with the character of the 30-membergoverning board, which mainly concerns itself withreviewing academic programs and departments withinthe University;

.That Harvard enclosed in the same mailing a"factually inaccurate" University policy statementon South African investments that portrayed theUniversity's investment practices in a deceptivelyfavorable light;

.That while Harvard had a chance to express itsopinion on the divestment issue, the Universitydenied the three candidates access to alumnimailing lists in order to respond;

.That these actions were done without theapproval of the full Board of Overseers andconstitute a violation of Harvard's own bylaws,and

.That Derek Bok, who is not related to theoverseers president, committed "constructivefraud" by failing to acknowledge his fullinvolvement in the decision to send the letter.

In early April, when the letter signed by JoanBok was mailed, he said it was Joan Bok's letter."What she was trying to do was tell graduatesabout the nature of the board," Derek Bok said,adding that the overseers president has the rightto express her opinion.

A month later, Derek Bok issued a statementthat was supposed to be his final comment aboutthe letter. He said that he approved the letter'sinclusion in the election mailing.

In neither case did Bok say that he intitiatedthe letter.

But several weeks after the formal statement,Bok commented again, acknowledging that he hadasked Joan Bok to write the letter and hadconsidered signing it himself before he waspersuaded that it would be issued moreappropriately by a member of the board.

Harvard Vice President and General CounselDaniel Steiner '54 said the complaint filed lastweek was the second submitted to the attorneygeneral's office. He said the University respondedto earlier requests by the attorney general forinformation.

The University's chief attorney added thatHarvard is prepared for the possibility of alawsuit.

"My office has reviewed what happened and underthe applicable statutes of the commonwealth andthe rules of the governing bodies of theUniversity we think the election process isappropriate and consistent with legalrequirements," Steiner said.

The origin and authorization for the letternevertheless remain unclear. Overseers have saidduring the past week that the letter received theapproval of the board's executive committee. Thatcommittee has the power to act for the boardbetween meetings.

Several members also said that at a Februarymeeting of the full body, when Derek Bok informedthem of the pro-divestment candidacies, manymembers opposed any action in response.

Bok said last night that he did not recallprecisely what transpired at the meeting but saidthe minutes would indicate support for an officialresponse.

As a matter of policy, the University hasrefused to release those minutes.

"Quite a number of us felt that sometimes oneof life's great wisdoms is to do nothing," saidoverseer George N. Leighton, a federal distictcourt judge in Chicago, of the discussion at theFebruary meeting.

Ballotting in the election ended over theweekend, and if the University keeps withtradition, the results will be announced Thursdayafternoon at the annual meeting of the HarvardAlumni Association