The Untouchables

During the last week of October, 400 students signed a petition addressed to the Harvard Corporation. The Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM), author of the petition, has been pressuring the University to implement a living wage and a conscionable sweatshop policy for several years. This is the first time, however, we have sought direct access to the Harvard Corporation. The Corporation is the University's highest governing board. Unfortunately, it is also the most secretive; PSLM is only now beginning to comprehend the Corporation's design and its influence.

In the petition to the Corporation we stated three demands. First, we urged Harvard to adopt an effective sweatshop monitoring strategy. Last spring, Harvard agreed to a strong code of conduct for all overseas labor, but has since failed to implement this code by refusing to join an effective monitoring organization.

Our second demand was for a living wage for all Harvard employees. At $10.25 (adjusted for inflation), the living wage is designed to keep Harvard families above the local poverty line. Versions of this policy have been adopted by the Cambridge, Boston and Somerville municipalities for all public employees. Harvard, the largest employer in Cambridge, refuses to uphold this community standard.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, these 400 students request that the members of the Harvard Corporation meet with members of the student body. Our deans continually assure us that if students play by the administrators' rules, we will be heard. Without access to the Harvard Corporation, however, we are not merely ignored--we are, in fact, invisible.

The extent of the Corporation's inaccessibility cannot be understated. When submitting our petition, we were told that the Corporation's meetings are not open to students--ever--and that the times and places of such meetings are confidential. Furthermore, we were told that our petition--the demands of 400 students--would be passed along to the Corporation's members only at their Secretary's discretion. We therefore have good reason to believe that most or all members of the Harvard Corporation will never set eyes on our demands. These strategies--closed doors and secret meetings--may be acceptable at Exxon Mobil, where Corporation member James R. Houghton '58 is a director. They may be acceptable at Enron, on whose board of directors Corporation member Herbert S. Winokur '65 serves. And they may be acceptable at Tricon Restaurants, home of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Corporation member D. Ronald Daniel. But they are not acceptable at our University. As a non-profit institution dedicated to higher learning, Harvard should operate through a qualitatively different power structure than a multinational, for-profit corporation.

This structure injures the dynamics of our community and the legitimacy of our learning at Harvard. Our liberal education is founded on the principles of open dialogue and civic participation, while the authority of the Harvard Corporation demonstrates the contrary. This is not acceptable.

Therefore, consider our lonely petition the first step among many. We will adhere to the formal protocol until we have exhausted those efforts. Should the Harvard Corporation refuse to allow students at their next meeting, we'll invite them to ours. We hope that you and the other 3,000 Harvard students, faculty, and staff will join us. Bring your bull horn: we will be heard.

Molly E. McOwen '02 and David J. Plunkett '04 are members of the Progressive Student Labor Movement.