Last January's public relations fiasco had little impact on the powers-that-be in Massachusetts Hall, according to Cambridge City Councilor David E. Sullivan. "Aside from [President Derek C.] Bok's program which benefitted students working in shelters, I can't think of anything the Harvard administration has done [to alleviate the homelessness problem in Cambridge]. Perhaps they forgot about it."

Sullivan argues that homelessness is still a hot issue in the city. In Central Square, local residents this spring defeated a proposal to convert an abandoned church building into a 20-bed shelter, while in the western section of Cambridge, neighbors are currently trying to prevent a non-profit group from establishing a home for mental patients in the area.

"There is definitely a role for an institution [like Harvard] to play in the community with a problem that obviously affects the student body," says David A. Whitty, executive director of a Boston-based shelter. "The line between an institution and the community is not a wall over which problems do not flow."

Whitty says he was disappointed that Harvard would not agree to a plan--forwarded by Adams House Co-Master Jana Kiely--to lease a tract of land from St. Paul Church and set aside a portion of the property for homeless families and start a center for socially-conscious students.

Campus politician Offutt agrees with the shelter's director. "I think the University ought to do something since there is some evidence that they've contributed to the problem of pushing people out of Cambridge and destroying parts of neighborhoods."

"Even if they haven't significantly contributed to the homelessness problem, the University has a responsibility as Cambridge's number one corporate citizen," Offutt adds.

Yet some administrators sense that all the adverse publicity Harvard received during "the great grate story of 1986" painted an inaccurate picture of Leverett House and the University's efforts to alleviate homelessness. Richard J. Doherty '76, director of state relations, says that in addition to the March conference on homelessness, Harvard will be sponsoring a benefit for Shelter, Inc. later this month.

Earlier this spring, the University also brought in medical personnel to examine the homeless men occupying the heating grates in an effort to determine the extent of their physical and mental disabilities, says Leverett House Senior Tutor Thomas A. Dingman '67.

"The role of Harvard is not to throw money at the problem," O'Neill asserts. "While the University can collect data on the subject and influence policy-makers at the federal level, there is a greater role for individual volunteers who want to do something personally."

Responding to the suggestion that Harvard, the largest landowner in Cambridge, should donate land for a shelter, O'Neill says, "It's not clear that even if you had 50 shelters within walking distance of the grates that these guys would go in."

Although the Leverett masters have implemented a number of strategies to improve security around the house--like expensive, round-the-clock police patrols at the grates, better lighting at the dining hall entrance, and a new look-out window in the superintendent's office--homeless men and students' fears will return to McKinlock as soon as the temperatures drop next winter.

"You can't underestimate the importance of what makes homeless people go to Leverett House," Whitty emphasizes. "There is a fantastic gush of heat that comes from those grates, some sympathetic students leave sandwiches, some stop and talk and say 'How are you?' and 'Who are you?' They will congregate there next year."