Relations Tense Between Merchants and Minority Students

The case of a College senior who accused a Harvard Square newsstand owner of racial harassment last week has focused attention on the often tense relationships between minority students and Square merchants.

Last Tuesday, after a hearing before a city civil rights committee on the alleged harassment, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III deemed the situation serious enough to request a meeting with the Harvard Square Business Association about the increasing diversity of the student body.

"I have asked to talk to the Harvard Square Business Association about the changed profile of Harvard students today because merchants don't realize how diverse the student body has become," Epps said yesterday.

"I hope to engage them in a discussion of race in the commercial setting," Epps added.

Richard A. Cole '95, a Dudley House affiliated who is Mexican-American, accompanied by Epps, filed a racial harassment complaint with the Cambridge Human Rights Commission against Nini's Corner last Wednesday.

At least one more Hispanic student has come forward with a complaint against Nini's Corner since the Cole story came out, according to Margot P. Kosberg, executive director of the Cambridge Human Rights Commission.

The complaint began a war of words in which both sides presented their versions of the incident to The Crimson. But this week, the situation took a sharp turn, with the store owner, Philip Nini, apologizing publicly to Cole.

Initial Defense

Initially, Nini vehemently defended his actions during the Cole incident.

The store owner claimed that Cole had violated the store's policy against excessive browsing, prompting Nini to ask the student to leave.

"He was reading a Billboard magazine for a half hour," Nini said. "I went over and in a nice voice, told him to leave because we only allow a minimum browsing time."

During an interview, Nini blew off Cole's complaint, calling the student a "screwball" and "troublemaker."

After first declining comment, Cole agreed to come forward with his version of the Oct. 26 incident. Nini would eventually concede that the student's version was more accurate than his own.

Contrary to what Nini had claimed, Cole said he had been reading a magazine for five minutes when Nini rudely asked him to leave.

Cole said Nini upset him by repeatedly using Spanish phrases sarcastically when evicting him from the store.

According to Cole, Nini at one point said, "What's the matter, no comprende English?"

Boycott

The student body rallied behind Cole, first with a petition sponsored by Will Rehling '86-'95 and later with an Undergraduate Council resolution calling for a boycott of the newsstand.

Rehling, a friend of Cole's from Dudley House, circulated a petition pledging signers to a boycott of the store and to the statement, "We Believe Richard Cole."

"There's no question in my mind that for Rich to be this upset, it had to be extremely egregious behavior," Rehling said last week.

Several friends of Cole called The Crimson, defending their friend's character and integrity.

"Rich is an unfailingly generous and polite person who aims to please everyone around him," said Jane C. Gray '95. "I cannot imagine him offending anyone."

Cole's colleagues on the Undergraduate Council pledged their support for him as well.

The council voted 39 to 19, with six abstentions, to pass a resolution that supported Cole. The measure also called on the Harvard community to boycott Nini's Corner "until Mr. Nini issues an apology to Mr. Cole and agrees not to discriminate."

Apology

The boycott had been in effect for only two days when Nini backed down and issued a public apology to Cole for his actions.

Nini retracted his earlier statements about the incident during a morning meeting at the Cambridge Human Rights Commission.

"[Nini] sincerely apologized to me and the entire Harvard community," Cole said.

Nini defended his record with minorities in an interview this Tuesday.

"Ninety percent of my customers are minorities," Nini said. "I wouldn't be here for 34 years if I had treated them badly."

The store owner explained that a concern for the welfare of his business was one of the factors that led him to resolve the Cole incident.

"Harvard is a good part of my income," Nini said. "I don't want to lose anybody."

Little Respect

Some students, however, think Square businesses do not give students, especially minorities, the respect they deserve.

Council Vice President Brandon C. Gregoire '95 said in the council's Sunday meeting that the Cole incident was indicative of the "lack of respect on the part of Harvard Square merchants to Harvard students."

"They forget that there are 10,000 students affiliated here, plus the thousands of tourists that come each year to see the College," Gregoire said.

Gregoire claimed he himself has been mistreated several times by Square businesses.

"I've had problems with the Tannery and Schoenhoff's Books," said Gregoire, who is Black. "It hasn't necessarily been racial. It was just harsh treatment."

The student attributes the mistreatment to his status as a student.

"It's obvious that there's different treatment of a well clad businessman and a jeans-clad Harvard student," Gregoire said.

While Gregoire discounts the racial factor, other students and faculty members claim there is a distinct prejudice in the Square.

Thomson Professor of Government Martin Luther Kilson Jr. said the Cole incident is endemic of the "two pennied neo-racism" in the Square.

"You could be a member of a faculty with ten Nobel Prizes, and when you cross the street, people will lock their cars," Kilson said.

The professor said he realizes that this "two-pennied" form of racism hardly compares to "big shot million dollar racists" like the Ku Klux Klan. But racism, small or large, must be challenged, he said.

"Every little manifestation of racism must be challenged," Kilson said.

'Complaints'

Minority student leaders also professed a concern for the relationship between Square merchants and Harvard minorities.

"I have heard complaints from several minority students that merchants in the Square have discriminated against them," said Kecia N. Boulware '96, co-chair of the Minority Students Alliance.

The discrimination is a concern of the alliance, but the group focuses more on campus issues, Boulware said.

With the attention given to the Cole incident, several other stories of discrimination in the Square have emerged.

Wendell K. Banks '96, who is half Black and half Native American, recalled an incident similar to Cole's that occurred a year ago at Nini's.

Banks said an employee of Nini's picked him out from among several other customers and asked him to leave.

"I was in there looking at Dupont Registry and the guy told me to get out," Banks said.

Banks believed his color may have had something to do with it.

"I look different because I have long hair, and I'm half African American and half Native American," Banks said.

The student said the Cole case gave him the courage to speak out about the incident.

"I wanted to do something this time because I didn't do anything last time," Banks said.

'Better Informed Merchants'

Epps said he will take steps to prevent a repeat of the Cole incident.

"A better informed group of merchants would be an asset for us and the kind of qualitative experience that we want our students to have at Harvard," Epps said.

Kristin T. Sudholz, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said she does not see a problem in the relationship between merchants and undergraduates.

"Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, you only hear from the complainers," Sudholz said. "I think, on the whole, the relationship is pretty good."

Sudholz pointed to the international mix of the Square as one of its strengths.

"It would be tough to find this kind of concentration of ethnicities anywhere else on the eastern seaboard," Sudholz said.

The director said Square businesses actually embrace the diversity of Harvard.

"We call Harvard University an 'international university," Sudholz said. "[Square merchants] think it is one of the strengths of the University."

Sudholz also said it is important to keep in mind that while some businesses cater to students, others do not depend on them all much. Students accounted for only 18 percent of the dollars spent in Harvard Square each year.

Said Sudholz: "Some of the businesses might not bend over backwards and do somersaults for students."

'A better informed group of merchants would be an asset for us and the kind of qualitative experience that we want our students to have to Harvard.'

Archie C. Epps III,

Harvard College Dean of Students