"Bok is tied into the institutional inertia" which prevents change, says Damon A. Silvers '86, a prominent campus activst. Silvers adds that personally Bok is probably a "decent guy" with "pretty liberal views," but his legal training prevents him from carrying these positions into his job.

Having a middleman like Steiner deal with activists has helped Bok avoid direct confrontations. Last spring, for instance, Bok skirted the controversy surrounding a proposed internship program which would have sent Harvard students to work in educational institutions in South Africa.

The proposal came under attack from prominent Black leaders like Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Rev. Allen Boesak. Much of the criticism for the program centered on the man Bok placed in charge of it, Steiner, his closest friend in the administration.

The one time in the past year that Bok directly involved himself in the job of fending off detractors ended in a public relations nightmare. After three pro-divestment alumni ran together for seats on the Board of Overseers, Bok directed the governing board's president to send a much-maligned disclaimer to alumni. That letter, included in the offical election packet and signed by overseer president Joan T. Bok '51, criticized the pro-divestment platform, claiming that election of those candidates would substantially change the nature of the board.

It later turned out that Derek Bok asked Joan Bok to write the letter. Earlier last spring, however, Derek Bok said the letter had been written at her initiative.

Shortly thereafter several alumni filed a complaint with the Massachusetts attorney general's division of public charities which is conducting an inquiry into the University's handling of the Board of Overseers election. Alumni accused Bok of fraud for not fully revealing his involvement in the sending of the letter.

Bok gets visibly upset when asked questions about the Overseers election, perhaps indicating that he feels he let Harvard down or perhaps indicating that even though a cool lawyer, he has become emotionally tied to his client.