Lewis was out of town yesterday and did not see the students protest, but Lewis and Theda Skocpol, chair of the FAS committee on public service, sent a guest commentary to The Crimson yesterday in which they called the restructuring of public service and the hiring of Kidd "modest changes" which "should not disrupt any existing public service activity or program." (See commentary, page 2)
Skocpol, who said she passed the protest and read the poster, commented that she thought students' input was considered during the search process.
"We have to make a distinction between being heard and the decision that gets made," she said.
Like Lewis, Skocpol said she will be unable to attend tomorrow's rally because of a previous out-of-town commitment. She will be in Princeton, N.J.
PBHA board members have said they hope to have 5,000 people present to protest what they call the administration's disregard for student input into the search process.
"I think [the sit-in] caught the attention of students much more so than posters ever could about the interests that various student [groups] have tried to raise," said Lisa D. Graustein '97, PBHA cabinet coordinator.
Pan said PBHA has obtained the use of a car equipped with a speaker which will be used today to publicize the rally in Boston neighborhoods served by PBHA volunteers.
Eighteen student groups have voted to support or endorse "PBHA's efforts to raise the administration's awareness of student voice and student issues on campus in the rally."
HAND issued a statement Sunday saying it supported PBHA's attempt to hire its own staff.
The Undergraduate Council passed a bill supporting the rally at its meeting last Sunday, endorsing the organization's efforts to become "more rational, autonomous and unified."
And the Cambridge City Council last month passed a resolution supporting the organization's "move toward a more rational, autonomous and unified operational configuration where its student-run public service and social action programs will be supported by a staff employed by PBHA, Inc.