Learning the Value of Appearances

Dean of the Law School Robert C. Clark learned a quick lesson about the importance of appearances this week.

When about 70 law students first staged a sit-in in Clark's office more than a week ago, as part of a nationwide strike for greater diversity in law school faculties, Clark treated the protesters brusquely.

Confronted with chants of "Where the hell is Dean Clark?" the dean's only response was a refusal to speak with anyone occupying his office. Hours later, he mumbled something about protests being unconstructive and turned things over to the police--who in their efforts to "secure" the building caused at least one scuffle.

Clark's treatment of student activists was a marked change from previous protests at the Law School.

For instance, when students staged a sit-in in the office of former Dean James Vorenberg '49 two years ago, Vorenberg had gone out of his way to be polite and make the students comfortable. And when students occupied Law School buildings in the tumultuous protests of the late '60s, then-dean Derek C. Bok is said to have brought the students donuts.

Of course, Clark has never been known for diplomacy in the midst of political strife. When the school's faculty was divided over tenure denials to several radical scholars in recent years, Clark the professor was one of the most vocal idealogues of the right.

And since his appointment as dean last spring, Clark has often gotten himself into trouble with students for taking a strong stand and then being quite open about his unwillingness to compromise.

"Dean Clark has made a point of taking a hard stand versus the students," said law student Linda Singer.

After their first protest, students found Clark's demeanor so offensive that they decided to sit-in again. But when students confronted Clark on Monday, the dean, for once, made an effort to at least appear open to discussion.

Politically Savvy

For starters, Clark made the politically savvy move of bringing three professors--one who was Black and another who was a woman--to confront the protesters.

"I know you are concerned and upset, and I share a lot of those concerns," Clark said to protesters.

Clark then invited two activists to address a closed full faculty meeting--an unprecedented move--about the issue of minority faculty hiring.

In reality, Clark had not changed his position. He still stood by the school's record on minority hiring, and said he was doing all he could do to make the faculty more diverse--exactly the same thing Vorenberg had said.

But there seemed to be a noticeable change in the tone of the protesters.

Activists still maintain that their fight is not over. In fact, they say that each day for the remainder of the year, groups of two students will hold a midday silent vigil outside Clark's office to show that they "will not go away."

Yet they are not planning any more sit-ins or occupations. And yesterday's forum on the diversity issue was markedly calm, even though Clark's actual stances were typically unwavering, particularly on sticky issues like sooner tenure considerations for visiting professors who are minorities.

"I'm not inclined to wave the year-away policy [for evaluating the tenure of visiting professors] under any circumstances, but we'll see," Clark said at the forum.

The protests have certainly not changed Clark's stand on the issues. But they may have changed his attitude about the way to publicy deal with student activists.