Fake Living Wage Rally Posters Appear in Yard

On the eve of the living wage campaign's biggest planned event this year, dozens of posters appeared throughout the Yard and Houses parodying the campaign's ideology and goals.

Bright green posters announced a "Rally for Relevance" and included slogans such as "Communism deserves a second chance," "You'll receive an Order of Lenin for this," "From Russia with love" and "Join us for an afternoon of collective economic misunderstanding."

The fake posters were nearly indistinguishable from the real posters, which announced a "Rally and More" scheduled for this afternoon and said, "Harvard Administration has had 15 months to respond to demands of students, workers, faculty, and the community. We refuse to wait any longer."

Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) members said they were not angry about the posters, and some said they appreciated the publicity.

"We're not that upset about it," said Derisa J. Grant '03. "We're a little worried that some people may be dissuaded from coming and we're worried that whoever did it might try to interrupt the rally."

"Actually, we're thankful that it has correct date and time so it's like free advertising," she added.

Yesterday afternoon PSLM members traveled across campus searching out the fake posters and tearing them down.

The posters carried the approval signature of "KNS," an acronym that does not appear under the College's listing of student organizations. When pronounced phonetically, the acronym reads "Quien es?" which means "Who is?" in Spanish.

"We have no idea who it is," Grant said. "We think that maybe some individual or group came up with a fake acronym."

Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth '71 said only recognized student groups are allowed to poster in the Yard.

"It sounds to me like some group that's trying to make this into something amusing," he said.

Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), an umbrella service organization, approved the legitimate posters. PBHA oversees the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM), which runs the living wage campaign. The campaign calls for a minimum $10 hourly wage for all Harvard employees.

The group said they expected today's rally to draw about 500 students, which would make it the largest rally held at Harvard in several years.

The demonstration will take place at 4 p.m. today at University Hall and will feature several speakers, including Cambridge Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio, members of the City Council and Professor of Sociology Mary C. Waters. Demonstrators will then march to the law school.

"Law school workers are some of the lowest paid on campus and we want to point out the conditions," Grant said.

PSLM members said they planned to reconvene for a "sleep-out" in the Yard at 9 p.m. Organizers said they expected about 100 people to take part in the demonstration.

Demonstrators will camp out in tents, listen to speakers, drink hot chocolate, play board games, jump on a trampoline and groove to the music of Fink Fank Funk.

They plan to remain in the Yard until administrators arrive in the morning.

"We're planning to wait until Rudenstine and the administrators come in," Grant said. "We're not going to antagonize them. We're going to greet them and have them see that we are still here and we are still visible and we will keep fighting."

Illingworth said PSLM had received a permit to rally in the afternoon but did not have permission to occupy the Yard at night.

He said he has been in contact with the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) but did not anticipate any problems.

"I can't imagine anyone would move anyone forcibly," he said. "We're hoping for minimal disruption for the rest of the College."

Today's rally comes in the wake of weeks of extensive labor activism at Harvard and across the nation that seems to have made University administrators anxious. Many have begun taking preventative measures to forestall unannounced demonstrations.

On Tuesday, which was National Labor Action Day, HUPD stationed uniformed and plainclothes officers around Mass Hall and University Hall to forestall any protests. None occurred.

"We had no idea what to expect," said HUPD spokesperson Peggy McNamara. "We were providing extra preventative security for the building and its occupants."

In preparation for today's rally, the Office of Labor and Employee Relations, which is located in Holyoke Center, planned to close early, prior to the start of the rally.

"I believe we may be leaving a little bit earlier tomorrow," said a staff person. She said she received an e-mail message in the morning saying that the office would close before 4 p.m., the time set for the start of the rally.

In past actions, PSLM has marched, chanted and staged "teach-ins" in Mass Hall and Holyoke Center, disrupting work in those offices.

In addition, students at other campuses have occupied administrative buildings in support of workers' rights. A living wage sit-in is currently ongoing at Wesleyan University.

McNamara said HUPD preparations for this afternoon's rally will be similar to those for demonstrations held in the past--additional patrol units will be on hand--but she said HUPD was unsure on how to plan for tonight's event.

"The sleep-out thing is something new and exciting," she said.