As students who support the sit-in, we were dismayed when we walked by Mass. Hall Saturday and discovered that it had become co-opted by a group passing out Socialist newspapers and protesting against globalization and corporate greed.

The PSLM is seriously damaging its credibility by allowing its own protest to be merged with the disparate concerns of leftist activists. It is alienating members of the Harvard community concerned about unfairly low wages but unready to embrace anti-globalization rants.

The protesters, both inside and outside of Mass. Hall, seem convinced the issues of transnational corporate greed and Harvard’s failure to institute a living wage go hand-in-hand. We can see the connections they are trying to make. Low wages are caused by powerful institutions paying workers only as much as they have to. Since Harvard can find workers who will accept $7 an hour, it sees no need to supply a living wage.

But if the sit-in is to succeed, it must be focused on the issue at hand, Harvard’s injustice. It can’t be blurred by addressing injustice worldwide, over which even the Corporation has no control.

The chances of the administration paying serious attention to this sit-in would be far greater if the PSLM kept its mind on the living wage in our community and saved other battles for another day.

Andrew P. Winerman ’04

Tariq M. Yasin ’04

April 21, 2001