Two Charged in Assault

The two men arrested late last month for unarmed robbery outside Thayer Hall were arraigned last week on charges of unarmed robbery and assault and battery.

Cameron F. MacDonald, 25, and Kevin M. Silvers, 19, were arrested by Harvard Police on June 30 after accosting, threatening, and stealing from a group of summer school students.

Spewing class-based insults, the two men proclaimed themselves skin-heads and tried to pick fights with the students.

After being indicted last week, MacDonald, a Boston resident, was released on $800 cash bail.

Silvers, who lives in Providence, was released on personal recognizance.

They are due back in court on July 23 for a pre-trial conference. If convicted, the two could face up to two-and-a-half years in jail apiece.

Restraining Order

David A. Friedberg, one of the summer school students who was threatened by the men, said the D.A.'s Office informed him that there was a restraining order on the two men preventing them from approaching him. Should they breach this order, the men could be charged with intimidating a government witness.

"I'm just glad I'm being kept so well-informed," Friedberg said.

Summer school administrators said the students responded well to the threat and are holding out the incident as an example of how to behave in a dangerous situation.

"It's the sort of thing that doesn't really fall under any possible regulation--being in the Yard, shortly after midnight, in principle should be fine," said Jedediah S. Purdy '97, the students' proctor.

"Their behavior was very much of the kind that was all perfectly in line," Purdy said. "If anything, it just reinforced lessons that had been much more abstract before the encounter."

Too Far?

Friedberg, however, said he was surprised at all the attention the attack was receiving.

"I'm starting to question whether this is going a little bit too far, whether this is a little harsh for the incident that occurred," said Friedberg, "but I'm sure the D.A.'s know what they're doing and I leave it in their hands.

They are due back in court on July 23 for a pre-trial conference. If convicted, the two could face up to two-and-a-half years in jail apiece.

Restraining Order

David A. Friedberg, one of the summer school students who was threatened by the men, said the D.A.'s Office informed him that there was a restraining order on the two men preventing them from approaching him. Should they breach this order, the men could be charged with intimidating a government witness.

"I'm just glad I'm being kept so well-informed," Friedberg said.

Summer school administrators said the students responded well to the threat and are holding out the incident as an example of how to behave in a dangerous situation.

"It's the sort of thing that doesn't really fall under any possible regulation--being in the Yard, shortly after midnight, in principle should be fine," said Jedediah S. Purdy '97, the students' proctor.

"Their behavior was very much of the kind that was all perfectly in line," Purdy said. "If anything, it just reinforced lessons that had been much more abstract before the encounter."

Too Far?

Friedberg, however, said he was surprised at all the attention the attack was receiving.

"I'm starting to question whether this is going a little bit too far, whether this is a little harsh for the incident that occurred," said Friedberg, "but I'm sure the D.A.'s know what they're doing and I leave it in their hands.