Af-Am 10 Class Size To Defy Fire Code

Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West ’74 announced he will continue to hold an unlotteried Afro-American Studies 10, “Introduction to Afro-American Studies,” in Lowell Lecture Hall, an apparent violation of fire codes.

“I’ve broken the law before,” West said in the class yesterday.

West said during lecture he would keep the class in Lowell as long as possible, moving to Memorial Church if police forced him out.

Five hundred ninety-nine students are enrolled in the class, far more than two years ago, when West last taught the course. The number places Lowell Lecture Hall about 150 persons over capacity.

The original plan was for a lottery, but last Wednesday West brought up the possibility of switching location to Sanders Theatre, and the lottery was postponed.

On Friday, the course website declared that the class had successfully moved to Sanders. Students were told there would be no lottery.

Matthew M. Briones, a teaching fellow for the course, reported that West said undergraduates were paying enough that they deserved to take whatever class they wanted to.

But the logistics of switching to Sanders did not work out.

Sanders was occupied by Literature and Arts C-42, “Constructing the Samurai.” Registrar Arlene Becella said the course requires audio visual equipment that only Sanders can provide.

As a result, students in West’s course crowd the floors and aisles to attend lectures.

“If I chose to be nervous, I could be nervous because we’re breaking about 15 million fire violations” says Sonja R. Nikkila ’02, “but I’m sure it will be okay.”

Police have taken no action yet and have no plans to force West to move the class.

“If called about a concern about overcorwding, we would come over to evaluate the situation, and try to resolve the issue by working with the administration for a reasonable conclusion,” said Harvard University Police Department Sgt. Bob Kotowski.

African American Studies 10’s unusual success this year is partly due to the fact that it will count for History A Core credit for the first time. Many students who did not want to take the course as an elective now find it easier to fit it into their coarse loads. In addition, West did not teach the course last year.

—Staff writer Eugenia B. Schraa can be reached at schraa@fas.harvard.edu.