PSLM Gathers to Commemorate Sit-In

On the fifth day after the end of the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) sit-in in Mass. Hall, students, community members and a handful of workers gathered last night at Mass. Hall to discuss the sit-in’s impact and to recognize its key organizers.

The candlelight vigil began just after 8 p.m. as Amy C. Offner ’01 spoke about the terms of the settlement which ended the 21 day sit-in on May 8. The agreement included a new committee to assess Harvard’s employment policies, a freeze on outsourcing and an early reopening of contract negotiations with the main custodial union.

According to Offner and official PSLM statements, the settlement represented a victory against the university on the living wage issue.

“We won an enormous victory against the [Harvard] Corporation,” Offner said last night. “We got them to agree to a process which, if properly implemented, should bring a living wage policy in six months to a year.”

Offner’s sentiment was echoed by a number of the speakers who, though they acknowledged that Harvard had not implemented a living wage, said that the reopening of the issue represented a major triumph.

Though reminiscent of the nightly vigils which were a staple of the PSLM protests during the sit-in, last night’s vigil was without amplification and was based on what organizers characterized as “unstructured” discussion—people who had sat in or worked outside stood up to speak about their experiences.

Many of the speakers referred to a sense of “empowerment” they gained from the sit-in.

“For once, I felt like I was really doing something important at Harvard,” said Julia B. Appel ’04, a PSLM member who worked outside Mass. Hall during the sit-in.

With the appointed committee set to begin deliberations at the beginning of the new academic year, PSLM members said they would need to be vigilant, particularly as the committee’s student representatives are selected next week. During the meeting, a member began distributing cards to marshal volunteers for PSLM projects.

—Staff writer Ross A. Macdonald can be reached at jrmacdon@fas.harvard.edu.