Over the din at this local hang-out, O’Donnell expresses little hope in Allston’s relationship with the University, and he questions Harvard’s commitment to the town’s working-class community.

“They don’t want us,” he says. “They want us out of town.”

Allston has long dealt with the presence of students from Boston University and Boston College, which both locate parts of their campuses in the area.

Harvard long maintained a comparatively minimal presence—until 1997, when a series of articles in The Boston Globe revealed that the University had secretly purchased 52 acres of land in Allston during the preceding decade.

The University instantly became an object of distrust and resentment in the community and, despite making amends with Boston City Hall, its image is still tainted.

Not far from the Bus Stop Bar, a sign for Beal Companies, the real estate developers who purchased the Allston land for Harvard, still stands as a sore reminder.

“You find out from different people what they own, and they’re still buying more,” O’Donnell says. “They’re driving up land prices and rents, and generations are being forced out.”

Meanwhile, he feels Harvard has offered little to the community in return for becoming Allston’s biggest landlord.

“They invite the kids over to the football games once a year and offer them a bologna sandwich,” he says. “That’s supposed to make up for it?”

Linda Callahan, a waitress at the Bus Stop Bar, also doubts whether Harvard has any concern for the community at all.

“Harvard sucks,” she says. “It’s a good school, but it’s going to force people out. The people who have lived here for years...won’t be able to live here anymore.”

Amidst the animosity that prevails in places like the Bus Stop Bar, Harvard is working hard to ease fears and appease the community.

“Yes, Harvard’s a factor here, but we’re not some villain that will buy out people’s homes,” Harvard’s Director of Physical Planning Harris S. Band told residents at a community meeting last month.

“It’s easy for folks to say they don’t see an enormous Harvard presence in Allston,” says Director of Boston Community Relations Kevin A. McCluskey. “But the fact is we’ve established very strong ties with a host of community organizations.”

Last year, Harvard donated the first installment of a promised $5 million grant for after-school programs in Allston-Brighton and other Boston neighborhoods.