Group Declares Victory Upon Exit

Students, faculty, administrators and union leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday afternoon as the 23 Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) members exited Mass. Hall to applause and red roses--ending a 21-day long occupation of the administrative building.

A two-hour-long rally heralding the exit featured jubilant speeches from labor leaders and local politicians and attracted hundreds of supporters.

The decision to leave the administrative building came after a long night of deliberations, following a marathon negotiation session held yesterday that included high-ranking AFL-CIO officials and top Harvard administrators, including General Counsel Anne Taylor, Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Paul S. Grogan and Harvard University Police Department Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley.

The agreement reached this morning will not immediately result in higher wages for Harvard employees, but instead focuses on a set of promises to reexamine workers' issues at the University.

The University has agreed to form a new committee with a Dec. 19 deadline to report back to incoming University President Lawrence H. Summers on all aspects of workers' benefits, including outsourcing and the possibility of implementing a "living wage" of $10.25 per hour, PSLM's central demand.

The University has also agreed to reopen contract negotiations with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) four weeks after the committee issues its report. The contract negotiated with SEIU, the union that represents Harvard's janitorial staff--some of whose members earn less than a living wage--will be retroactive as of May 1.

Additionally, the University has issued a moratorium on new outsourcing until the committee issues its report.

As news of the University's agreement reached Mass. Hall yesterday, protesters began the long task of cleaning up the hallway and three rooms that have been their home for three weeks, vacuuming, washing, spraying disinfectant and carefully removing their posters from the walls inside.

Around 2:30 p.m., PSLM supporters lined up outside to carry bags of trash, uneaten food and electronic equipment out of the building.

As the final rally began, Senator Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56, who has been a vocal supporter of the campaign, called in to express his support, which PSLM member Amy C. Offner '01 broadcast over the P.A. system.

"To anyone who believes that student leadership is a relic of the past, I say come to Mass. Hall," he said. "It's your victory and you deserve it."

As he spoke, the PSLM members still inside the administrative building clapped and cheered, and celebratory balloons popped in the midday sun.

A handful of Faculty members also stepped up to the podium before the students exited the building to thank them for what they described as an invaluable lesson in economic justice.

"This is a victory for Harvard that students have handed to the University," said anthropology professor Michael Herzfeld. "You have truly educated us."

In between speeches, the crowd cheered living wage chants in both Spanish and English that have become familiar over the past few weeks.

A few workers also took the podium to applaud the students.

"For a long time, we were the forgotten workers, but not any more," said one janitor, wearing a crimson work jacket.

"All my heart is with you guys," he said, eliciting cheers from the audience.

The hour and a half of speeches were just a prelude to the students' exit--which took place 21 days, 3 hours and 52 minutes after the sit-in began.

Union leaders, administrators and the assembled local and national press formed a sort of runway as the 23 pale but freshly washed and shaven student activists filed out of the building.

They were greeted with hugs and red roses from fellow PSLM supporters who have spent the past three weeks rallying and organizing outside Mass. Hall.

Publicly, to throngs of supporters, the protesters claimed victory in their struggle against the University.

Stephen N. Smith '02 said he was thrilled with the agreement that brought an end to the sit-in.

"In place of hope is conviction and in place of silence is power," he said.

"We've organized and won something tremendous," PSLM member Benjamin L. McKean `02 agreed.

He called on the assembled supporters to continue lobbying to ensure that the University's agreements do eventually result in a living wage.

"Today's victory cannot be anything but a partial victory. We've got to build out from here and keep organizing," McKean said.

As the 21 days of daily rallies came to a close, PSLM members led the audience in a round of "We shall not be moved." The crowd held hands as they sang in both English and Spanish.

As they sang, some supporters--who have spent much of the past three weeks outside Mass. Hall--began to cry.

Some of the day's warmest applause came as protesters and supporters thanked the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for their long hours during the sit-in.

Officers worked 12-16 hour shifts every day monitoring the protest, and eventually HUPD had to ask for additional officers from the Cambridge Police Department.

The exhausted officers were grateful to see the protest come to a peaceful solution.

"It'll be nice to have some time off," Sergeant Wilmon Chipman said.

But the mood was bittersweet across the Yard behind the crowds, in the "tent city" of supporters that has sprung up in the Yard over the past few weeks.

The sprinklers were turned on last night for the first time in weeks and as the afternoon wore on, the tent city residents rolled up their sleeping bags and prepared to leave the Yard.

By evening, the "tent city" had all but disappeared, leaving only small piles of trash in its wake.

One middle-aged resident--who had slept in the makeshift city since its creation weeks ago and had even moved into a larger tent over the course of the sit-in--said he simply did not know where he was going to go.

"I wish they would provide some sort of transitional housing," he said, as he folded the clothes strewn about his tent.

A sign on the tent belonging to the self-appointed city physician read simply, "The doctor is out."

But for some, yesterday's exit represented a homecoming.

As the protesters celebrated their exit, Mass. Hall staff held their clasped hands high and danced up the steps and back into their building.

Inside, the secretaries sipped champagne and opened windows to air out the building. Staff and police began pulling down the sun-bleached signs lining the Mass. Hall windows.

"We're glad the next phase is starting, said Beverly Sullivan, President Neil L. Rudenstine's administrative assistant.

One staff member raised his cup of champagne high, and toasted "To young America!"

--Staff writer Garrett M. Graff contributed to the reporting of this story.

--Staff writer Daniela J. Lamas can be reached at lamas@fas.harvard.edu.