Dowling and Chief Johnson denied Diaz was everharassed. Both officials said he was fired becauseof his lack of proficiency in English. Fourcomplaints about Diaz, all dated from June 1989,indicate the guard had trouble on the job becauseof his English.

Diaz, who worked as a guard from January 25 toJune 22, 1989, filed a grievance with the serviceEmployees' International Union and a complaintwith the Massachusetts Commission Againstdiscrimination (MCAD). MCAD dismissed thecomplaint after what one official called a "verythorough investigation."

Questions remain about the circumstancessurrounding Diaz's firing. Diaz, union stewardRobert Travers and Diaz's ex-wife Karen McReadyall said Diaz did not have union representationwhen he was fired.

Former University attorney Edward Powers said aJune 6 meeting between Travers and Dowling--duringwhich Diaz's problems with English werediscussed--constituted union representation.

Travers, who is also a guard, said he wasreturning to the guard office at the end of hisshift to turn in his radio when Dowling spoke tohim. Travers said he did not believe he wasrepresenting Diaz.

McReady also said she met with Dowling on June8, 1989, two weeks before her husband was fired.According to McReady, Dowling told her he mightfind Diaz a job somewhere in the University wherehe could "be with his own kind."

Travers said Dowling made the same statement tohim during the June 6 meeting. Last month, Dowlingdenied ever making the comment.

In a February 13, 1990 decision on Diaz's uniongrievance, Powers ruled that Diaz had sufficientunion representation and said McReady's andTravers' accounts of conversations with Dowlingwere not credible. McReady disputed that, sayingshe never spoke with Powers and was not allowedinto the January 1990 hearing.

Reached at his MIT office last week, Powerssaid he could not recall the details of the case.

Another guard, a Russian citizen who asked notto be named because he said he is a politicalrefugee, last month said security supervisorThomas Henaghan harassed him "almost every day"for the past two years.

Henaghan last month said he never harassed theguard. He said the guard warranted closesupervision because the guard had a history ofbeing out of uniform, away from his post andsleeping on the job.

The Russian guard said he sent a letter onmarch 11 of this year to Chief Johnson sayingHenaghan harassed him on numerous occasions.

According to documents obtained by The Crimson,the guard was suspended for three days in Apriland warned that further infractions of departmentrules would result in permanent dismissal.

In suspending the guard, the department said helied in a hearing to probe the incident of allegedharassment. The guard was also out of uniform atthe time, the department said, another factorresulting in suspension.

The guard said the suspension was retaliationfor the March 11 complaint of harassment. Theguard also said Dowling maintains an atmosphere inthe department where bigotry and ethnicallymotivated harassment are tolerated.