Epps, a tenured professor who has worked at Harvard for 14 years, said the University should stop “conducting itself as if it were a multinational corporation with no soul, no concern for human life and no concern for human dignity.”

After his speech, Epps said that he had tried to contact the administration many times about the job and service cuts. The only response he received was from Larson Librarian of the College Nancy M. Cline.

Epps said that although the response had “seemed reasonable on the computer screen,” it was important to come to rallies and see the human beings.

“They’re not just numbers,” he said. “They’re faces, they’re bodies.”

Professor Mitten’s speech focused on the library system, which has been forced to lay off 14 workers and close Kummel Library and part of Hilles Library because of budget difficulties. Before cost-cutting measures were introduced last fall, the HCL was projecting a $2.3-million deficit for fiscal year 2005.

By 6 p.m., the sunset and the plummeting temperatures had reduced the crowd to about 35, but as the crowd dispersed, the remaining activists chanted, “We’ll be back.”

—Staff writer Leon Neyfakh can be reached at neyfakh@fas.harvard.edu.