Council Passes Statement on Diallo, Questions Political Role

The Undergraduate Council last night passed a bill condemning police brutality and supporting student efforts to call attention to the issue in the wake of the Amadou Diallo verdict.

The bill passed by a wide margin, but not before an exhaustive debate that lasted over an hour and touched on the finer points of criminal justice, philosophy and linguistics.

And to no one's surprise, the debate included some introspection over whether the council--which for the past three weeks has concentrated solely on issues related to Harvard--ought to be discussing national issues like police brutality in the first place.

Former council President Noah Z. Seton '00, for one, said he thought the council was making a big mistake.

"It moderately upsets me that the council is moving back in the direction [of dealing with issues not related to student services]," Seton said. "This is the reason the council, when I got here freshman year, was thought of as irrelevant."

But most council members didn't see the bill in that light, as it passed 40-12, with 3 abstentions.

Even Jeffrey A. Letalien '00, one of the council's most conservative members, decided not only to support but also to sponsor the bill.

The bill's authors made a concerted effort to tie the bill to issues relevant at Harvard, including a "whereas" clause saying that "Harvard students have been victims of overly aggressive police tactics and police brutality."

"This has a direct impact on Harvard students," said David B. Orr '01, one of the bill's sponsors.

"It's important for the [council] to take leadership on issues that are important to students," he added after the meeting.

At first, some were concerned that the bill might suggest that the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) was guilty of police brutality. A vigorous debate on the subject erupted over the council's open e-mail list minutes after the meeting's agenda was announced.

"How many violent HUPD attacks have there been recently?" wrote David A. Tortorella '00, who is not a council member.

Another student, Harpaul A. Kohli '01, responding by saying he had been mistreated by HUPD.

At the meeting, other student shared stories of alleged harassment of black students by HUPD officers. But in the end the council chose to amend the bill to refer to brutality and harassment "not limited to Harvard and its surroundings."

Some students said this made the bill seem even less relevant to Harvard students.

"This is not a student affair," said Frank X. Leonard '01. "It's a national affair in which students are interested."

Leonard applauded students who are "fighting the good fight" in opposing police brutality, but said the bill was not an appropriate way to address the problem.

But while Leonard argued that the bill would not do much to stop police brutality, he said he did not believe the bill took a controversial stance.

"I think the fact that Jeff Letalien and David Orr are co-sponsoring a bill shows it's not a political issue," Leonard said in a moment of levity.

In another light moment, C. Jonathan Gattman '03 offered an amendment to the bill resolving that the council "support the disarmament of America's police force."

When asked to explain, Gattman--who is white--said police once pulled over him and his friends in a poor neighborhood, convinced they were there to buy drugs.

Gattman said having a gun pulled on him was the scary part. It wouldn't have been that bad, he said, "if they had water balloons or Mace."

Only three council members voted to consider Gattman's amendment.

In other council business, members voted to approve a $1,000 grant to any student group that comes up with the best project to fight homophobia at Harvard.

No council members spoke against the appropriation--despite the fact that it is double the $500 limit the council normally places on project-based grants to student groups.

Opponents of the bill said they didn't see any reason to speak against it, saying they wouldn't change anyone's mind and that the real debate would come when the Student Affairs Committee approves a proposal.

"I'll make sure they don't allocate that $1,000," said council Treasurer Sterling P. A. Darling '01.