"I'm a minority myself," said Nini, a second-generation Albanian-American. "I don't discriminate, and I don't like people that do that kind of thing."
But Nini conceded that there may have been a misunderstanding.
"I'm going to be a lot more careful in the future," Nini said. "I won't say anything anymore."
Nini defended his record with minorities. "I have a lot of minorities working for me," he said. "Ninety percent of my customers are minorities. I wouldn't be here for 34 years if I had treated them badly."
Yesterday, Nini retracted many of his earlier statements to The Crimson on the incident, including calling Cole a "screwball" and a "trouble-maker."
"No, he's not a screwball or anything," Nini said. "He seemed like a very nice boy when I met him in person."
Nini also originally claimed that Cole had been browsing in the store for a half hour, prompting him to ask the student to leave. But yesterday Nini corroborated Cole's version of the story.
Business Concerns
A concern for the welfare of his business was one of the factors that 'S The Undergraduate Council, of which Cole is a member, passed a resolution Sunday asking students to boycott Nini's Corner. Council President David L. Hanselman '94-'95 said yesterday that the council's official role is over now. "I think the council's purposes were well served when Mr. Nini issued his apology," Hanselman said. "He realized that Harvard students will not tolerate racial bigotry." But Hanselman called on students to remain aware of potential harassment from Nini. "Harvard students should continue to keep a watchful eye on the store," Hanselman said. Boycott organizer Will Rehling '86-'95 also said he was satisfied with the outcome of the dispute. "Rich Cole is satisfied. The matter is resolved," Rehling said. "The boycott is over." Rehling, Cole's fellow Dudley House council representative, said the boycott had demonstrated the power of the student body. "I think we've proved that the student body can achieve things through collective action," Rehling said