Guards Probe Enters Advanced Stage

It started last month, in an unmarked first-floor superintendent's office in the Cronkhite Graduate Center, with former FBI agent James A. Ring asking the questions, one-on-one, of security guards generally friendly to department management.

This week, the investigation into alleged discriminatory practices in the University security guard unit moved into an advanced stage, with Ring beginning interviews of guards who publicly charged on-the-job harassment by their supervisors.

The interviews now appear to have changed focus and location, with Ring conducting his current queries in a drab 7th-floor office hidden in Holyoke Center.

Guards said Ring focused in early interviews specifically on questions of racial discrimination. But guards said Ring's questioning in recent interviews has dealt with a variety of issues, from the conduct of supervisors, to the union which represents the guards, to overtime pay.

The guards said Ring routinely pressed them for information on whether they have any first-hand knowledge of discrimination in the unit. But he also posed more general questions, asking one guard to name one thing he would change about the security unit.

Some aspects of recent interviews have upset some guards. This week, a woman has joined Ring in the sessions and posed some questions. The identity and employer of this woman, who identified herself as an attorney to one guard, could not be confirmed.

Guards interviewed said they had been led to believe that Ring would be conducting the interviews alone. A letter sent to all members of the unit in January did not mention any inter-viewers other than Ring.

"It's really spooky." said one guard, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Why do they need two people? The letter they sent me said Ring would be doing the interviews."

Ring and General Counsel Margaret H. Marshall, the Harvard vice president who hired him, have refused to comment on the specifics of the probe.

The guards' reviews of the investigation have been mixed, with those interviews giving different accounts of everything from the focus of the sessions to the confidentiality of the process.

The guards generally depict Ring as a skillful interviewer, who can be alternately friendly or prosecutorial.

"At the beginning, it was like two boxers fighting," said one guard whose interview lasted for hours. "At the end, it was very friendly."

Some guards said confidentiality was jeopardized because the interviews have been scheduled back-to-back, so guards can see each other as they enter and exit the interviewing areas. "How can confidentiality be preserved when you see who's going in and out?" another guard noted. "This is pitting guard against guard--who's going for you, who's going for them.

Some aspects of recent interviews have upset some guards. This week, a woman has joined Ring in the sessions and posed some questions. The identity and employer of this woman, who identified herself as an attorney to one guard, could not be confirmed.

Guards interviewed said they had been led to believe that Ring would be conducting the interviews alone. A letter sent to all members of the unit in January did not mention any inter-viewers other than Ring.

"It's really spooky." said one guard, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Why do they need two people? The letter they sent me said Ring would be doing the interviews."

Ring and General Counsel Margaret H. Marshall, the Harvard vice president who hired him, have refused to comment on the specifics of the probe.

The guards' reviews of the investigation have been mixed, with those interviews giving different accounts of everything from the focus of the sessions to the confidentiality of the process.

The guards generally depict Ring as a skillful interviewer, who can be alternately friendly or prosecutorial.

"At the beginning, it was like two boxers fighting," said one guard whose interview lasted for hours. "At the end, it was very friendly."

Some guards said confidentiality was jeopardized because the interviews have been scheduled back-to-back, so guards can see each other as they enter and exit the interviewing areas. "How can confidentiality be preserved when you see who's going in and out?" another guard noted. "This is pitting guard against guard--who's going for you, who's going for them.