Accompanied by Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III, a Harvard senior filed a preliminary complaint yesterday with the city charging that a Harvard Square newsstand owner racially harassed him.

Richard A. Cole '95, a Dudley House affiliate, met with officials from the Cambridge Human Rights Commission yesterday afternoon to discuss the alleged harassment at Nini's Corner.

Cole declined to comment yesterday, and Epps refused to comment, saying any comments about the matter should come from Cole.

Philip Nini, the shop's owner, recalled asking Cole to leave the store Tuesday evening, but said his action was neither racially motivated nor discriminatory in any way.

Nini said he merely confronted Cole after the student had spent half an hour reading an issue of Billboard magazine.

But Cole's complaint falls under the city ordinance prohibiting harassment, intimidation or discrimination against any person in a public accommodation because of race or color, Margot P. Kosberg, executive director of the commission, said yesterday.

When contacted yesterday, Nini said he had not been aware of the complaint, but he recalled the incident in question.

"He was reading a Billboard magazine for a half hour." Nini said. "I went over and in a nice voice, told him to leave because we only allow a minimum browsing time."

Cole was angered by this, Nini said.

"He threw down the magazine and went over to read the muscle magazines," Nini said. "He muttered something and kind of moped around the store."

Then, Nini said, he again asked Cole to leave.

"He said, 'Do you know that I'm a student here at Harvard?'" Nini said.

"I don't care where he went to school," Nini said. "I don't care if he's a graduate of Oxford, for crying out loud. He was browsing too long and we don't allow that."

As Cole left the store, he informed Nini that he was going to write a letter of complaint against the store, according to Nini.

Nini said yesterday that he blew off the threat as a lot of hot air.