Epps Says Guard Training Needs Improvement

Calling racial tension in the University guard unit "a serious problem" for the College, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III last week urged the Harvard Police Department to improve training and supervision in its security division.

Epps, who is coordinating College efforts to improve campus race relations, said in an interview Friday that racial tension in the security department may affect how guards treat students.

"It's one of the most serious problems in the College from my point of view," said Epps. "It affects the nature of relationships here, and I hope the [police] leadership will start looking for solutions soon."

Last spring, seven former and current minority guards said they were harassed by their supervisors. University officials--including Police Chief Paul E. Johnson and former General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54--denied that harassment had occurred.

Earlier this month, a Black student at the Graduate School of Education said she was harassed by a security supervisor while working as a dispatcher for the escort service in 1990.

Epps said guards have had a history of problems in dealing with undergraduates, and said he believed the problems were the product of inadequate "training and supervision" in the guard unit.

"There has been a serious problem over the years, and it really must be addressed by the department," Epps said. "I think the answer lies in training and supervision."

In making these statements, Epps is the first University official to publicly acknowledge a problem in the security guard unit.

Johnson could not be reached for comment.

"This is not just a minority issue," said Epps. "This problem allows students who are suspicious of Harvard to draw conclusions about the entire institution."

An investigation of the racial incidents conducted by the general counsel's office in the spring found no wrongdoing by the supervisors. But severalguards said the University botched the inquiry byfailing to interview them