Administrators Fear Sit-Ins, Call for Extra Security

Afternoon sun and speeches by students, workers and Cambridge officials attracted almost 200 activists to yesterday's rally for a living wage in front of University Hall, and an evening shower did not deter about 30 seasoned protesters from pitching tents in front of the Science Center in a "sleep-out" for workers' rights.

Cambridge Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio and City Council members Jim Braude and Marjorie C. Decker headlined the demonstration.

Each said Harvard's failure to pass a living wage of $10 per hour for all Harvard employees could jeopardize the University's good relationship with the council--which is crucial for ongoing development projects like the Knafel Center for Government and International Studies and a proposed art museum on the bank of the Charles River.

"If Harvard wants to build a new building and comes to the City Council, all nine of us will say, 'Implement a living wage, and we'll talk,'" Braude said.

But Paul S. Grogan, Harvard's vice president for government, public and community affairs, said the University faces different concerns than the city of Cambridge and must consider a host of factors before changing labor policy.

"To the extent that there's an impression created that the University has been inactive or ineffective on the issue, that couldn't be more incorrect," he said. "It arises out of [the fact that] a municipality acting on this issue makes the decision very differently than a university."

The City Council passed a resolution Monday night urging Harvard to adopt a living wage of $10 per hour. At the meeting, a few councillors, including Decker, said they would not side with Harvard on development issues unless the University implements a living wage.

Braude reiterated this ultimatum yesterday, and said he was speaking on behalf of the entire council.

"We are not speaking for the three of us [present at the rally]--we are speaking for the nine of us," he said.

But Galluccio said he thought discussions about University development projects should remain distinct from the living wage issue.

He said Harvard should pass a living wage as a moral issue, not because the University expects the council's support in return.

"This is not a quid pro quo discussion. I'm not putting anything on the table," he said. "I feel like the center of this discussion is not about what we do for Harvard--it's about taking a fair stance. We're not going to back away from this."

All speakers at yesterday's rally said Harvard should move more quickly to implement a living wage.

"Welcome to the 15th month of the living wage campaign," said Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) member Benjamin L. McKean '02, who served as master of ceremonies for the event. PSLM spearheads the living wage campaign on campus.

Yesterday's rally marked the third major living wage demonstration at Harvard this year.

"Haven't we done this before? Why do we keep meeting like this? What's the problem?" Braude quipped to the crowd.

But University administrators, including President Neil L. Rudenstine, have said they will not consider implementing a living wage until an ad-hoc Faculty committee, convened last spring and headed by Weatherhead Professor of Business Administration D. Quinn Mills, releases a comprehensive report on labor at Harvard.

In a statement issued yesterday, Rudenstine praised the work of the committee despite its lengthy time frame.

"This process has understandably taken considerable time," he said. "I have every reason to believe that this will turn out to be time well spent."

The committee does not plan to release its report before the end of this semester.

Grogan said the process of enacting new policy is a slow one because of Harvard's size and complexity.

"To make lasting change at a large university and one as decentralized as this takes time and those who insist that [implementing a living wage] takes place overnight or in a short time don't understand how the University works," he said.

But speakers at yesterday's rally said Harvard's wealth would allow the University to enact a living wage with minimal cost or disruption.

"Fourteen billion, the cash rolls in--everyone but the workers win," protesters chanted.

McKean, who is also a Crimson editor, also criticized administrators for attempting to avoid the protests. Administrators said they decided to close the Office of Human Resources early yesterday, before the start of the rally, to avoid possible confrontations with protesters.

"The people on the inside are so scared of the people on the outside," said McKean. "They'd rather not work and leave the community than have to pay their workers a living wage and have to deal with us."

Yesterday's rally began in front of the John Harvard statue at 4 p.m. Protesters heard speakers, listened to worker testimony and beat drums.

After an hour of speeches and chants, the crowd marched around Mass Hall and then proceeded to Harkness Commons at the Harvard Law School (HLS).

Yesterday marked the first time PSLM had targeted a school other than the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Organizers said they targeted HLS because it employs some of the University's lowest-paid workers.

Several students at HLS said they appreciated the rally's message.

"It's important because it's a consciousness-raising activity," said Makambo Tschionyi, a second-year HLS student. "At the law school, people here need to look less at immediate self-gratification and focus more on the community at large."

The formal rally ended at the law school, but about 100 demonstrators planned to reconvene for a "sleep-out" at 9 p.m.

Demonstrators planned to pitch tents in the Yard, light candles, hear worker testimony and enjoy the music of FinkFankFunk, a student band.

But as darkness fell, so did the rain.

At 9 p.m., about 30 protesters gathered in front of the Science Center to discuss plans. After a lengthy debate, they decided to progress with the event, but in modified format.

"Because there were a lot of us here willing to stick it out through the rain, we thought it would be worthwhile not to quit and go home," said Eleanor I. Benko '02, a PSLM member.

Students camped out in front of the Science Center instead of in the Yard, and FinkFankFunk did not perform.

But organizers said the event was still a success.

"We're disappointed, but it's still heartening to see how many people stayed despite the rain," Benko said.

Protesters jumped on a 14-foot trampoline, on loan from the Dudley Co-op, drank hot chocolate and munched on carrots and cookies.

At one point, after organizers set up a sound system, strobe light, and invited a disc jockey to spin tunes, the demonstration attracted about 80 people.

Activists said they planned to go ahead with plans to greet Rudenstine and other administrators as they arrived in the morning.