The lights are out in the toddler room of the Botanic Gardens Children's Center, but as 4 p.m. approaches the quiet of naptime is broken by the snaps and zippers of preparation for recess on the snow-covered playground.

"Pablo is still sleeping. He must be tired," one toddler tells the caregiver while hovering over the sleeping youngster's head.

The child gets closer and louder, repeating, "Pablo is sleeping."

Not anymore.

Pablo's eyes open slightly and his head raises a bit before he burrows it into his curled arms.

Realizing that Pablo wants naptime to continue, his friend moves to a window ledge across the room and lets the toddler sleep.

Peace at Last

Life was not always so tranquil at the University's most recently completed construction project, located in the Harvard-owned Botanic Gardens apartment complex one block beyond the Quad.

The $1.5 million children's center, the new home of the 28-year-old Harvard Law School (HLS) Child Care Center, was completed in late January after rancorous debate and angry community meetings.

HLS announced in mid-1996 it was going to repossess the space the daycare center had used on the HLS campus. The eviction left the center's 43 young charges and their parents seeking a new site.

The Botanic Gardens complex, only a few blocks from the Law School, seemed like an ideal location.

But in a series of community meetings and angry exchanges between tenants and University developers throughout the fall of 1997, Botanic Gardens residents explained that the new facility would pit affordable childcare against the quality of life in the apartment complex.

The most vehement opposition to the facility came from a band of junior faculty members and Botanic Gardens residents who viewed the center as an intrusion and an impediment to their research, writing and, ultimately, their search for tenure.

"They tried to sell us this project, and people saw the wool was being pulled over their eyes," Botanic Gardens resident and Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies Marcus Moseley told The Crimson during the center's planning process in December of 1997.

But, University officials say, Harvard had a duty to follow through on its stated commitment to affordable care for children of students and faculty.