Students Rush to Register 'Great Grape' Preferences

Students flocked to the polls yesterday to definitively determine the future of grapes at Harvard.

The choice facing students was whether grapes that do not bear a United Farm Workers (UFW) label should be served in campus dining halls.

A "yes" vote yesterday would allow Harvard Dining Services to serve grapes of any kind, effectively ending a 1992 ban on table grapes. A "no" vote would keep the fruit out of dining halls, unless HDS was able to secure a contract with an organization supported by the UFW, which is fighting for better wages and treatment for grape-pickers.

Students voted as they entered the dining halls by swiping their ID cards through the electronic devices used to count student meals and pressing either a yes or no button. The polls were open at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Alexandra E. McNitt, the project manager for HDS, said HDS will release the results this morning.

Ted A. Mayer, director of HDS, said HDS will not check the results from the computer until this morning.

"I will be up all night worrying about it," he said jokingly in an interview last night.

Many of the students who voted said they had strong feelings about the referendum.

"I voted no," said Zhongjue Chen '01. "I think if people really care about workers' conditions they should vote no."

Other students also expressed concern for the safety of the grape workers.

"I voted no. I don't like grapes enough to override the fact that workers are being exploited," said Pilar C. Gonzalez '01.

Some students said they were willing to vote no because the choice implied that HDS might serve grapes in the future if some are approved by the United Farm Workers.

Other students said they voted in favor of ending the boycott.

"I voted yes. I don't think the reasons they have against grapes are that strong," said Lin Gan '00. "I don't think [the boycott] is going to make that big a difference. If people want to help workers there are so many more efficient ways to do it."

An Adams House senior who wished to remain anonymous said, "I voted yes because I don't think the ban has been effective in the [last] four or five years. The UFW ban has not been effective in 13 years. I read as much as possible on both sides."

Some students said they did not vote on the referendum. Some said they are not interested in the debate, and others said they do not particularly care what type of food is served in the dinning halls.

"I hardly went to Annenberg," said Rochelle M. Jean-Jacques '01, adding that schoolwork often keeps her too busy to eat meals in the dining halls

"I voted no," said Zhongjue Chen '01. "I think if people really care about workers' conditions they should vote no."

Other students also expressed concern for the safety of the grape workers.

"I voted no. I don't like grapes enough to override the fact that workers are being exploited," said Pilar C. Gonzalez '01.

Some students said they were willing to vote no because the choice implied that HDS might serve grapes in the future if some are approved by the United Farm Workers.

Other students said they voted in favor of ending the boycott.

"I voted yes. I don't think the reasons they have against grapes are that strong," said Lin Gan '00. "I don't think [the boycott] is going to make that big a difference. If people want to help workers there are so many more efficient ways to do it."

An Adams House senior who wished to remain anonymous said, "I voted yes because I don't think the ban has been effective in the [last] four or five years. The UFW ban has not been effective in 13 years. I read as much as possible on both sides."

Some students said they did not vote on the referendum. Some said they are not interested in the debate, and others said they do not particularly care what type of food is served in the dinning halls.

"I hardly went to Annenberg," said Rochelle M. Jean-Jacques '01, adding that schoolwork often keeps her too busy to eat meals in the dining halls