PSLM member Madeleine S. Elfenbein '04 said she sees Knowles's letter and the rules prohibiting delivery of coursework to the building as tactics employed by administrators to force the students from Mass. Hall.

While she says her professors have been very supportive-she made a video for her Foreign Cultures class from within the building-it's simply very difficult to get work done without books.

"I just don't have the materials I need to complete my coursework and my grades will take a hit," she said. "This is a very effective tactic. To students who care a lot about their grades, it can be as crushing as denying food."

And if occupation of Mass. Hall extends to exam period, which begins on May 17, the stakes for the students inside grow higher.

Herzfeld, who has a teaching fellow occupying the building, said he expects that the living wage issue will be resolved before exam period.

"If they stay beyond this week, it's an indication that something has gone seriously wrong," Herzfeld said. "What I've seen so far leads me to think that a timely resolution is possible."

He said even beyond supporting the students through academic work, faculty members are urging administrators not to take any disciplinary action once the students have left the building.

Herzfeld said it would be inconsistent of administrators to punish students after applauding their "moral courage."

He said he expects that Faculty members will vote to recommend that no punitive action be taken at a Faculty meeting tomorrow.

Elfenbein said while she, too, hopes to see a resolution before exam period, she entered the building with the knowledge that she might have to make academic sacrifices.

"My parents have given me a carte blanche to let my grades slide," she said.