The question is: What type of citizen is John Harvard? Is he a good neighbor? Does he hide behind the ivory or is he a committed and responsible member of the world that exists on the other side of the gate?

A number of people believe that I have made my political career by blasting Harvard University. Let me answer all of those people that my political career would go along just fine with or without Harvard University. My attack upon Harvard has been a part of a larger political philosophy; it is not by itself that philosophy. More about this later.

Whether it comes as a surprise or not, I believe that Harvard has on many occasions been a great citizen, is often a good one, and when it is not, the city often has itself to blame for the problems that are created by Harvard. When you need something, you have to ask for it; step up, unafraid, and ask. Often, one man acting alone can get a lot done by following this simple rule.

When things are happening that you do not like, you have to stand up and holler and demand that they stop. I confess to having done this once or twice in my dealings with the University. Here, one can is more limited when he acts alone. I have been an elected official in Cambridge for more than 30 consecutive years. If some of my colleagues in government had joined me in my battles along the way, we could have stopped Harvard from doing some things that have now returned to cause us trouble.

Our complaints remind me of the story that is told to explain the definition of chutzpah: murdering one's mother and father and then pleading for clemency because one is an orphan.

One of the many interesting things about lasting so long in this business is that you can sit and listen to the government whine about living with the conditions imposed by the conquerer, and, at the same time, remember how the same government laid down its arms and rolled over feigning dead when the lines of battle were drawn. There is a lot of chutzpah in Cambridge.

May be I can find a better way to explain something more about the University as citizen, particularly as a citizen of Cambridge. These are just anecdotes and observations, but they help to tell the story.

* Derek Bok has made a difference. If there's a Hall of Fame for college presidents, he ought to be in it.

* Go into Macarelli's Bar in East Cambridge and ask the truck drivers and meat packers that drink there what they think of Harvard. They'll tell you that it gobbles up all the property in Cambridge and is populated with strange and eccentric people.

* Go into the markets in East Cambridge and ask the Italian and Portuguese women if they have ever set foot in the Harvard Yard. Almost all of them will answer no.

* Go back to Macarelli's Bar and the markets and tell these good people that you will grant them any wish for their sons and daughters. They will all tell you the same thing: they wish that their son or daughter could be admitted to Harvard.

*When we travel, we take pride in Harvard: "I'm from Cambridge, Mass., you know, that's where Harvard College is."

* Closer to home, the pride disappears and we complain a whole lot.

* When it gets real close to home, when our children or our nieces and nephews are admitted as students, then the feelings we have are clear. Our respect and admiration for this University is unmistakable.

* The real problem is real estate. When the College grew in the '60s, it gobbled up neighborhoods and drove up the price of housing for everyone. There is not enough Cambridge for everyone who wants it. That was the war which the city should have fought. Now we can only skirmish over lots and individual buildings.