Shanties to Stay Standing Through Commencement

Despite calls by University administrators for the removal of the Yard shanties for Commencement, the students staffing the structures say they will not budge.

In two negotiating meetings, administrators told the students that they would "not forcibly remove the shanties." However, they asked the students voluntarily to move the wood-and-garbage-bag structures to another site.

When the members of the Southern Africa Solidarity Committee (SASC) built the shantytown six weeks ago, they said the shanties would stand until the University agreed to a list of demands which included total divestment of the University's $416 million dollars invested in stock in companies that do business in South Africa.

SASC reiterated its position last week, refusing to move the shanties to an area less central to Commencement activities.

Traditionally, seniors have lined up for the Commencement ceremonies on the grass outside University Hall and some reunion activities have been held where the shanties stand. About a quarter of the senior class signed a petition two weeks ago advocating that the protest structures be removed by Commencement.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences A. Michael Spence sent a letter to SASC two weeks ago requesting that they remove the shanties "within the next few days." The letter read: "The interests and rights of others seem to me now to have a stronger claim on your attention and mine. There are a number of such interests and rights, but I have in mind particularly the graduating seniors and their families, for whom this week's Commencement is a unique event."

Spence and other administrators have also expressed concern about the number of people outside the Harvard community who are sleeping in the shanties. SASC members decided soon after the construction of the shantytown to allow homeless people to stayin the shanties.

Although the University has been payingthousands of dollars per week to provide securityfor the shanties, there have been reports ofhomeless people fighting over alcohol at 4 a.m. Inone incident, a man was stopped after he left theshanties with a student's sleeping bag.

When the shanties were constructed, SASCmembers delineated "Principles of the Community,"which prohibit alcohol and drugs and call onprotesters to respect others' property within theshanties.

SASC member Robert Weissman '88 said that aCambridge health and safety inspector came by inthe past month and affirmed that the shanties werenot violating any city regulations.

Other shantytown dwellers have reported seeingrats in the area.

Disappointment

Administrators said early this week that theywere disappointed with SASC's decision not to movethe shanties. Vice President and General CounselDaniel Steiner '54 said, "I had hoped somewhatvainly that the students who put up the shantieshaving had six weeks to express their views wouldhave more decency toward others in the communitythan they now seem willing to show."

Steiner said that he has received severalletters from seniors asking that the shanties beremoved by Commencement and that he is "trulysorry we have been unsuccessful in persuading"SASC to do so.

But SASC members said that their decision tokeep the shanties standing was inevitable. "Ithink it is likely that there will be some peoplewho are irritated by the presence of theshantytown, but what we have to ask these peopleis to realize what the shantytown is about andthat the reality of our investments in SouthAfrica translates directly into things like theshantytown," said Weissman