Law Students Stage 15 Minute Sit-In At Prof's Office

Fifteen students staged a sit-in yesterday in the office of a prominent Harvard Law School professor, but left after 15 minutes when they were threatened with disciplinary action.

The students, all members of the Harvard Law School Coalition for Civil Rights, occupied the office of Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence Charles Fried in order to protest alleged hiring discrimination against women and minority faculty members at the Law School.

According to Fried, the students entered his office at approximately 11 a.m., sat down and unfurled signs announcing a silent protest.

Fried said he repeatedly told the protesters that they had to leave because he was preparing to teach a class.

When the students did not respond, Fried said, he became upset and told Law School Vice Dean David N. Smith to remove the students.

"I told Vice Dean Smith to get them out or I'd call the police," Fried said.

"If they hadn't left I would have Ad-Boarded them," he said, referring to the Law School's Administrative Board, which handles disciplinary cases.

Fried said he responded to the sit-in with strong disciplinary threats "because they wouldn't leave my office. They were disrupting my office and my work and they wouldn't leave."

According to a coalition member familiar with the situation, the students had intended on staying until police arrived but decided to leave when Smith warned them of their actions' possible consequences.

The coalition targeted Fried for the sit-in because his name appeared on a list of professors who have been particularly vocal in blocking at- tempts to diversify the faculty, the membersaid.

But Fried said the sit-in was not justified.

"Sit-ins are proper if they point out the factthat someone is doing something immoral," he said."In this case, nobody is doing anything immoral,so this is a totally improper means of protest."

The sit-in was the coalition's latest volley ina recent campaign against the Law Schooladministration. In 1990, the student group filed alaw-suit in a Massachusetts state court chargingthe Law School with violating the state'santi-discrimination law.

The students were dismissed but were granted anappellate review by the Massachusetts SupremeJudicial Court, which earlier this month beganhearing arguments about whether coalition membershave standing to sue the University.

Coalition members charge that Harvard LawSchool currently has a lower percentage ofminorities and women in its faculty than manyother law schools due to discriminatoryadministrative practices.

Law School officials have countered thatbecause of the limited pool of women and minoritycandidates available, changes in faculty diversitywill come slowly.

This sit-in appeared to be part of a prolongedcampaign by the coalition to protest outside ofcourt. Last week, coalition members staged aprotest at Dean Clark's house in the morning andaccompanied him to work

But Fried said the sit-in was not justified.

"Sit-ins are proper if they point out the factthat someone is doing something immoral," he said."In this case, nobody is doing anything immoral,so this is a totally improper means of protest."

The sit-in was the coalition's latest volley ina recent campaign against the Law Schooladministration. In 1990, the student group filed alaw-suit in a Massachusetts state court chargingthe Law School with violating the state'santi-discrimination law.

The students were dismissed but were granted anappellate review by the Massachusetts SupremeJudicial Court, which earlier this month beganhearing arguments about whether coalition membershave standing to sue the University.

Coalition members charge that Harvard LawSchool currently has a lower percentage ofminorities and women in its faculty than manyother law schools due to discriminatoryadministrative practices.

Law School officials have countered thatbecause of the limited pool of women and minoritycandidates available, changes in faculty diversitywill come slowly.

This sit-in appeared to be part of a prolongedcampaign by the coalition to protest outside ofcourt. Last week, coalition members staged aprotest at Dean Clark's house in the morning andaccompanied him to work