Rudenstine Responds to Labor Group's List of Demands

The deadline was yesterday. The rally is today.

Two weeks ago, members of the Progressive Students Labor Movement (PSLM) sent a letter to University President Neil L. Rudenstine demanding that presidents of Ivy League schools adopt a strict anti-sweatshop code of conduct.

In the letter, they issued an ultimatum: Allow PSLM students formal access to negotiations, and respond by March 8.

And by yesterday, PSLM had in fact received responses from both Rudenstine and University Attorney Allan M. Ryan Jr., who has been closely involved in the negotiation process.

Rudenstine stressed that Harvard has been working with a task force from the Ivy institutions, adding that "Harvard is prepared to come to conclusions in the near future."

"Meanwhile, I want to assure you that I am mindful of your concerns," Rudenstine wrote. "Allan Ryan and I (and others) continue to view this as a collaborative effort."

But Daniel M. Hennefeld '99, one of the coordinators of today's rally, said the letter "didn't say too much of anything."

"It was telling us that he understands our concerns and wants to do the right thing, but not really addressing our substantive demands," he said.

PSLM member Benjamin L. McKean '02 added that Rudenstine's response was, just as he expected, "free of content."

And although he said that Ryan's letter was "more thoughtful," he said that it didn't promise anything more specific than Rudenstine's had.

Ryan was not available for comment yesterday.

Ivy League presidents will hold a conference call tomorrow afternoon to address sweatshop policy. That conference call, along with yesterday's deadline, makes today's rally particularly timely for PSLM and their demands, McKean said.

"The date was convenient for about 100 different reasons, one of which was this," he said.