Occupy Harvard started with a bang. The challenge now, its members say, is to keep it from ending with a whimper.
On other campuses, rising student debt is fueling large, sometimes raucous protests. At the University of California, Davis, seated protesters were doused with pepper spray last week - an incident that led to the removal of the campus police chief and prompted calls for the chancellor’s resignation at a rally attended by thousands.
But at Harvard, the ambience is relaxed. There are no calls for Faust’s resignation. In fact, said Nic Galat, a member of the Harvard Undergraduate Council, many students are “really impressed with the university’s response in allowing a peaceful protest.’’
Having won their first battle, the protesters themselves are pondering next steps.
“Clearly, the union contract was a big win, but we haven’t finished our work,’’ said Fenna Krienen, a fifth-year psychology graduate student present in one of the 20 remaining tents yesterday. “We’re at an inflection point.’’
The protesters have moved on to other demands - an end to admissions preferences for the children of alumni, for instance, and an overhaul of the economics department. They say they want systemwide change.
“There’s tension between people who just want to make a laundry list of issues and those of us who want something more deep-seated,’’ said Randy Fenstermacher, a Harvard employee who splits his time between the campus campsite and Occupy Boston in Dewey Square. “We want to talk about principles. We don’t want to end up with a bunch of small reforms that can easily be undone.’’
But big change may require much more than a campout.
Occupy organizers are planning a nationwide student strike for Monday. So far, 29 schools have signed up, including Tufts University.
At Harvard, protesters will hold a rally in solidarity, featuring a speech by the author Chris Hedges.
But they are not planning to skip work or class en masse.
