Forum Focuses On Social Role

As part of a national day of reflection on the social role of higher education, about 30 students yesterday afternoon participated in a series of workshops on the democracy and ethics of Harvard.

Covering topics ranging from the University's involvement with unions to the role of students in Cambridge politics, students, faculty, and union leaders at the five-hour conference called for increased student activism.

Across the nation, more than 100 schools staged similar teach-ins, sit-ins or rallies to discuss the role of democracy and ethics in their universities.

Citing the fact that less than 25 percent of the students vote in Cambridge city elections although about half are registered voters, City Councilor David E. Sullivan said, "That should be a serious consideration of the students. If they participate politically and in the University, they can have a real influence."

Kris Rondeau, who is attempting to unionize the University's more than 4000 technical and clerical workers, called on students to support her effort. "I think Harvard has contempt for all of us," she said. "We are going to need students beside us at all times."

However, she said, "We view students as a pool of potential scabs and it is absolutely necessary for us for you to know us personally so that [in case we strike] you won't come in and takeour jobs."

"We aren't planning a strike, but we aren'tstupid and we're not afraid to strike if we haveto," Rondeau said.

"The thing that bothers me the most is thatthere is no more anger," said Domenic Bozzotto,president of Local 26 of the Hotel and RestaurantWorkers. Bozzotto said that sustained anger, whichhad existed during his youth 20 years ago, has nowbeen replaced with "timely" anger that lasts nolonger than an hour.

Bozzotto, who has threatened to organize awildcat picket if the Harvard Faculty Clubcontinues to hire outside weekend help, askedstudents for their support. But Bozzotto said hewould not object if Harvard students filled theweekend shifts.

In a discussion of University disciplinaryprocedures, Melissa S. Lane '88 advocated theUndergraduate Council's proposal to replace thecontroversial Committee on Rights andResponsibilities (CRR) with a student-facultyjudiciary board that would hear all cases wherethe burden of proof rests on the students.

"They [the administration] are listening [toour proposal,] but certain things are sacrosanctat this time," said Lane, who chairs the council'scommittee on the CRR.

Jamin B. Raskin '83, a second-year law studentactive in the law school's Southern AfricaSolidarity Committee (SASC), contrasted theUniversity's handling of faculty discipline withits treatment of student discipline.

"What's so incredible here is that whenprofessors engage in behavior that isfundamentally destructive to the community, theUniversity's response is nothing," said Raskin.

"If we allow our politics to be centered onourselves and our issues, it will be the politicsof the privileged," said Damon A. Silvers '86, aSASC member who spoke on the future of themovement. "Our present powerlessness and thefuture promise of power are the poles of studentactivism," said Silvers.

"There was a real kind of thought-sharing thatmight be very productive in terms of people'scommitment," Dinah S. Leventhal '88, an organizerof the Democratic Socialists of America, whichsponsored the event, said of yesterday'sdiscussion