Calling it inaccurate and incomplete, former and current security guards who have charged their supervisors with discrimination reacted with outrage to a report on their claims released Friday by Vice President and General Counsel Margaret H. Marshall.
Seven guards interviewed over the weekend said they would not back down from their charges despite the report. Many used words like "demeaning" and "offensive" to describe the attitude taken by the report towards their concerns.
Their strong statements differed in tone and substance from what a slight majority of two dozen guards said in interviews at their posts Sunday night and yesterday morning. Most of these guards said they were less concerned with the report's finding and more focused on the 14 recommendations included in the report.
But the guards who have made public charges said they found the report's findings disturbingly ill-informed. Forcefully and in detail, seven denied the allegations.
In the report, the 13 guards whose employment histories are discussed were identified by letter, not by name. But many were readily identifiable. David Butler, Jacquelynn Leonard, Juan Figueroa and Andrew J. Parker could not be reached for comment. But seven guards whose cases were discussed in the report were reached, and they vigorously disputed the report's findings.
Steven Thompson
Current guard Steven Thompson, who is Black, had complained that he received a three day suspension and final warning for sleeping while a white guard got only a written warning for the same offense. Management of the unit had argued that Thompson deserved a more severe punishment because he had intended to sleep on the job.
The investigation found that it was likely that the white guard had also intended to sleep on the job. But the report ruled that Thompson's complaint of discrimination was unfounded because security officials had not had that information when they disciplined the white guard. The report also labelled Thompson's case "significant."
But in an interview this weekend, Thompson insisted this he never received a letter requesting an interview to discuss this "significant" case. Marshall has said that all guards were sent a letter. Thompson, who said his father, also a guard, received a letter, said when he asked about security officials about the matter, they told him he would receive one in due time.
"I don't know why Harvard doesn't want to talk to me," said Thompson. "Every investigation they've had no one ever talked to me."
Thompson also alleged that the report was riddled with inaccuracies about his case.
While the report indicated he was off his "area of duty," Thompson said--and documents obtained by The Crimson confirm--that he was Thompson also said that the report's contention that he intended to sleep was disingenuous. Thompson, who claims he was taking cold medicine that made him drowsy on the night in question, stopped to sit in a chair during his rounds and nodded off. He said he did not lie down in any of the couches in the room where he could have slept more comfortably if it was his intention. "They assume the white guard didn't mean to sleep," said Thompson. "They assume the Black guard meant to sleep." Russian Guard In the case of a Russian guard, who has asked that his name not be used, the report concluded that the guard's history of disciplinary problems made his complaint of discrimination on the basis of his ethnicity and national origin not credible. The guard had accused security supervisor Thomas F. Henaghan of harassing him by making fun of his English and his background and by disciplining him unfairly. The guard charged that the report inaccurately reported his statements from the interview. For example, the guard said he had given investigator James A. Ring the names of three guards who had witnessed the alleged harassment, not one as the report said. The Russian guard also said he had not been involved in another physical confrontation before the one that cost him his job in January 1993, as is alleged in the report. "It's so bad," said the guard. "I gave Ring a lot of extremely important leads to check out." The guard said Ring told him in the interview that the January 1993 firing, which came after he allegedly assaulted another guard, would not be part of the report. Ring ended the interview without asking questions about it, the guard said. And when the guard asked if they could talk about the issue, Ring said there was no time. The incident was, however, included in the report. In addition, the guard claimed that he was singled out for disciplinary infractions for which other guards were not written up. The guard made the same charge in a complaint he filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination earlier in the summer. "I really was naive," the guard said. "I believed in [Harvard's] good intentions." Pierre R. Voss Some of the report's harshest words were reserved for Pierre R. Voss, who had charged he was discriminated against and harassed on the job. The report charged that Voss "has used unfounded complaints of racism with management and in the student press for personal advantage, and as a means of undermining [security supervisor Donald P.] Behenna." Manager of Operations for Security Robert J. Dowling has said much the same thing during interviews in recent months. Behenna has refused to answer all questions from The Crimson. The report based its finding largely on the anonymous statements of several guards who are not named in the report. According to the report, four guards said they had heard Voss say he would charge discrimination if he had trouble in the department. And other guards are quoted as saying Voss "is irresponsible and performs inadequately." In an interview this weekend, Voss challenged these guards to come forward. "I'd like to see them produce these witnesses, and have them stop hiding behind James Ring," Voss said. Voss said the report exaggerated a situation when he tried to enter Lehman Hall in 1991 in an apparent attempt to play pool with his girlfriend. Voss was fired after that incident, but was fixed after he appealed because the firing did not follow progressive discipline procedures. Voss also said the report failed to mention several incidents of discrimination and harassment he had reported to Ring. The report maintains that he offered only two specific allegations of discrimination in the interview. The report also ruled that Behenna, who Voss has accused of harassment, did not coerce the guard into writing a letter in the spring of 1991 saying Behenna was not racist. Voss disputed that finding, charging that Behenna had hounded him for three weeks for the letter, including once over the radio. He said Behenna had also subtly threatened his job during the spring, when Voss was in his initial six-month probationary period and could be fired for any reason. The report says that Behenna and Voss had a "work-related friendship" that went awry in March 1991. Voss emphasized that while he tried to be friendly to his boss, he was never a friend. Voss also charged that the report's description of a conversation between him and Dowling about politics was misleading. Voss has alleged that Dowling told him pointedly that he would vote for David Duke for president. The report said that Voss "elicited Dowling's views on the subject." Voss said he had merely asked, in a casual way, who Dowling might vote for in the 1992 presidential race. Voss disputed the report's statement that Voss "did not point to any instance in which Dowling had taken any discriminatory or retaliatory action against him." Voss said he had mentioned several specific instances in his interview, adding that he believed Dowling was sanctioning the way Behenna acted towards him. The report also casts doubt on Voss's attachment to his racial identity. It cites a 1991 Cambridge police traffic citation given to Voss, who is light-skinned, which lists him as Caucasian. The report also notes that Voss's hair is blond and his eyes are green. "My mother is Black--from Jamaica," Voss said. "If I put down that I'm Black, that's what I am." Stephen McCombe Citing the advice of his attorney, Stephen G. McCombe, who is accused in the report of pursuing complaints of discrimination as a union steward to serve a "personal agenda," said he had not received a copy of the report and would not comment. The report said that Dowling and McCombe had a friendship which Dowling ended in 1980 before McCombe was hired by Harvard nine years ago. The report suggests that McCombe bore a grudge because Dowling would not lend him $800 in money after Dowling had given him money before. McCombe has said he never asked for the $800. McCombe has also said Dowling recommended him for his job as a Harvard guard. Dowling has denied that. The report calls the "McCombe-Dowling animosity" central to creating a perception of discrimination among the guards. But Peter Skillman, a 20-year veteran of the unit, said yesterday that Dowling and McCombe were friendly up until the time McCombe became a union steward. Skillman said that, when he briefly served as a supervisor in 1982, Dowling tried to get McCombe a job in the unit, but Police Capt. George Walsh rejected the request. Charles Crockett The report also tells the story of Charles Crockett, a Black guard who retired from the guard unit in 1990. Crockett said he was not contacted for an interview, and alleged that the part of the report dealing with his story is in error. Crockett, who had not publicly charged discrimination before yesterday, charged that, like Thompson, he was given a far harsher punishment than a white guard was when both fell asleep on the job. Documents obtained by The Crimson show that Crockett received a five-day suspension while the white guard, who was training Crockett in how to do a new job at the Kennedy School, got a three-day suspension. The report said Crockett received a longer suspension because he was a more experienced guard. Crockett said yesterday he believed the discrepancy in discipline was racially motivated because there was no other difference between the two guards. He also said security supervisor Donald P. Behenna gave him "a hard time" when he worked at Widener Library. Rolando Diaz The report found that the termination of Rolando Diaz, a Hispanic guard who was fired in 1989, was justified because of his lack of proficiency in English. Diaz had charged that the firing was discriminatory in part because of a comment both he and his ex-wife allege Dowling made when he decided to fire Diaz. Dowling allegedly suggested that he could find Diaz another job in the University, perhaps in custodial work, where the immigrant from El Salvador could "be with his own kind." Dowling has denied making the comment, and the University, the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission all ruled against Diaz when he appealed his case to them. The report charged that the comment made by Dowling "was intentionally mischaracterized in an effort to create a claim of discrimination during the grievance process." The report cited the ruling of former University Attorney Edward W. Powers in a 1989 grievance hearing which said that Diaz's ex-wife had admitted Dowling did not make a discriminatory remark. In interviews yesterday, Diaz and his ex-wife, Karen McCree, who works at the Kennedy School of Government, vehemently disputed the report's conclusion that the comment had been mischaracterized. "Dowling said it. I heard it," McCree said. "How can you intentionally mischaracterize a statement that someone should be with his own kind?" McCree was not interviewed as part of the Choate, Hall & Stewart investigation. Diaz said Dowling interviewed him and should have known if he had a communication problem that would prevent him from doing his job properly. "If I had a communication problem, why did he hire me?" Diaz said. "And why did he wait five months to fire me?" The report said Dowling hired Diaz to "give the guard a chance to prove himself." Howard Reid The report also cast doubt on an allegation made by current guard Howard Reid, who charged in October that he had witnessed two racist incidents in the department. Reid had alleged that in 1988 or 1989 a white guard, in the presence of Dowling, referred to Martin Luther King Day by asking "Who's going to take the nigger day off?" The report denies the incident, noting that Dowling and a former guard who allegedly was a witness denied hearing the comment. The report acknowledged that a supervisor was present, although he may not have heard a comment made to Reid by a white guard during the time of the Los Angeles riots. Reid charged that the guard said, "you see you niggers getting your asses kicked in L.A. One reason we have so many problems in this department is you people." The report claims that the actual statement was "No wonder you people are getting your asses kicked in Los Angeles." Reid said yesterday that he had told Ring the word "niggers" was used. The report called this "an improper racial comment by a guard which, if over-heard by the supervisor, should have been corrected." Rodney Johnson The report denied a public charge of discrimination made by former guard Rodney Johnson, who left in 1988 to try to become a police officer and was not rehired as he said he was promised. The report said his attendance record prevented his rehiring and said that Rodney Johnson, who is Black, himself did not think race was a reason for Harvard's refusal to rehire him. Johnson, who was interviewed by Ring, said the report misquoted him. Johnson said, and his wife, who attended the interview, concurred, that he was certain the decision not to rehire was racial. He also reiterated statements he made last spring, when he said he saw discriminatory treatment in discipline and the day-to-day treatment of guards. "I knew Harvard was going to pull that scam," Johnson said of the report. "And now Harvard's going to try to do their best to get [the guards] fired. I feel so bad for the guards right now."
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