About 40 students picketed outside the Kennedy School of Government yesterday afternoon to protest CIA recruiters who were interviewing candidates inside the building.

Toting signs reading "Isn't buying professors enough?" and "CIA is not academic freedom," the activists circled in front of the K-School's main entrance from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

While CIA recruiters make annual trips to Harvard, yesterday marked the first time in several years that students have protested the agency's visit.

"Particularly with recent revelations of [the CIA's] funding on campus and of the Contras [anti-government rebels] in Nicaragua, we think that people should be challenging their ability to recruit on campus," said Douglas Brugge, a graduate student who is a member of the student Committee On Central America (COCA).

Earlier this month, The Crimson reported that a Harvard professor accepted about $150,000 from the CIA for a conference on the Middle East and for a book he wrote, and apparently violated University guidelines for reporting the funding.

"We shouldn't allow the CIA to recruit on campus, any more than we should allow the Mafia to recruit for their thugs," said COCA member Oscar Hernandez, a graduate student in physics.

Interviews Not Stopped

While the protest took place, several candidates met with recruiters inside. One student interviewee who asked not to be identified called the CIA "a good place to do analysis after you come out of school," given the "tight academic market."

The CIA representatives were not available for comment, but other interviewees--who asked to remain anonymous--said the recruiters mainly sought historical and scientific researchers. They said the protest had not discouraged people from interviewing with the agency.

The number of interviews that took place was not made available, but Harvard Police Chief Paul E. Johnson, who monitored the demonstration, said "a couple dozen" people were expected