Van der Merwe's advisees spoke only on thecondition of anonymity because they say they fearrelation from professor in the wing, whoseapproval is necessary to obtain a Ph.D. Thestudents say that attempts to go outside the wingto solve the problem have failed.

"Female students who have been harassed havenowhere to turn," says one of van der Merwe'sfemale advisees, "because [van der Merwe] is thechairman of the wing. You're incredibly vulnerableas a graduate student--he signs off on your Ph.D.,and if he decides not to do that, you will nevergraduate."

Three students say that van der Merwe, who iswhite, told them an offensive joke about theFugawis, "a tribe in Africa that jumps up and downand says 'Fuck, fuck, fuck.'"

Van der Merwe says that he was talking about acomputer game he had seen in a shop and thestudents had misinterpreted him.

"If there are people who dislike you, they aregoing to be able to twist what you say," he says.

In recent days, at least two professors in thearchaeology wing have begun a search to identifygraduate students who have spoken with TheCrimson, according to Phillips Professor ofArchaeology and Ethnology C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky.Van der Merwe has also attempted to identify thosewho have spoken out, two graduate students say.

"People here have done a lot of work figuringout who has spoken to you," Lamberg-Karlovskysays. "We know who is talking to you."

In an interview Wednesday, Lamberg-Karlovskycalled the allegations "serious." Then, hesuggested that the allegations were "part andparcel of the game we are playing." He would notsay to which game he was referring.

Regardless of their opinion on the allegations,nearly all students interviewed by The Crimson saymorale is very low in the wing. Some studentstrace the problems to van der Merwe and hisconduct towards students.

But one graduate student and one professorcharge that female graduate students in attemptingto "engender" the department, have themselves hurtthe wing's morale.

In an interview in December, ven der Merwe saidthat he had never harassed any of his students.

He also said that it is not appropriate to airsuch charges in The Crimson, and he told hisfreshman seminar that he might sue the paper,according to a student in the seminar.

In an interview, van der Merwe said onestudent, Meredith Chesson, had filed a sexualharassment complaint against him two years ago,but only "because she didn't want to take myclass."

Chesson has declined to comment.

"As chair of the archaeology wing, I am beingpromoted as the fall-guy for complaints againstthe wing," van der Merwe said in the Decemberinterview.