Chester Hartman Is Back

The name of Chester W. Hartman '57 continues to grace the news page of The Crimson with predictable familiarity. Last week, the controversial former assistant professor at the Design School once again challenged the committee established to hear his appeal case.

Hartman's contract was terminated two years ago and since then, he has steadily appealed the decision. But two years of maneuvering between Hartman and the GSD have centered almost exclusively on the appeal process itself and have tended to obscure the initial cause of the dispute. Hartman has consistently maintained that his firing was based mostly on political considerations; he was, after all, active during the now-legendary 1969 Harvard Strike. But he is now happily ensconced at Berkeley and he seems merely to want a fair hearing of his substantive allegations.