Campus Justice

THE urban side of Cambridge crudely intruded on Harvard University recently. The side where accused rule breakers appear before a judge, and not the Ad Board, where punishments are marked by spending time behind bars, and not by catchy names like DiscPro or AcPro.

The town and the gown met in the small hours of that Sunday morning, when two Cambridge police officers entered Adams House C-Entry to check on a noise complaint. Before the police left, a scuffle broke out between Fernando Marti '88-'89 and the officers. They dragged him down the stairs and slammed him against their cruiser, according to eyewitness reports.

Explanations, but not excuses, for the officers' conduct lie in several other reported details: that Marti yelled at the officers, refused to show an I.D. and taunted them by asking, "What right do you have, coming here like Gestapo?"; that he injured the patrolman who may have started the brief fight with him; and that the policemen thought they had entered the private Pi EtaClub, when they were actually admitted into Adams House.

Charges that the police may have used unnecessary force during the arrest and withheld bail are currently being examined by Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III. A full and frank examination is needed on these important questions.

But more importantly, the University and Cambridge must reach an understanding about when, if ever, the police can enter a dormitory room. When we came to Harvard, we ceded certain rights of privacy to the University police, and not the Cambridge force. No Harvard dormitory should ever be barged into--loud music notwithstanding--and shut down the way the Cambridge police shut down the Adams House party. The Cambridge and Harvard forces usually respect one another's jurisdictions, and College officials should see to it that such arrangements are maintained.