An ABCC investigator could not confirm that the commission had voluntarily released the students' names to any Harvard agency. One student present during the ABCC sting said that the investigators had assured a Harvard student whose identification was confiscated that his name would not be released to the University.
Students who were at the Grille when the sting was conducted said that the investigators were dressed in plainclothes and casually approached a table where they showed the students their badges and asked them for the IDs they had used to enter the establishment.
"It was like a sneak attack," said one of the Grille patrons carded by investigators. "The people at the other end of the table walked away, and they didn't seem to bother them. I guess I was just at the wrong end."
The student said one first-year had provided a false name to the investigators and had been let go, but another Harvard first-year who was also carded said the investigators used their walkie-talkies to call into a database to verify that the name he provided was correct.
"It wasn't worth it for me to do something slick," he said.