Liem himself has said he would not fire Li. "I can't [fire Li]," Liem said. "That wouldn't be fair to the people involved."

Tutors met with Jewett twice about the hirings, most recently in April, but they did not file a complaint, they say, because they feared losing their jobs.

At a staff meeting in March, Liem told tutors he could not work with anyone who "did not trust" him. Tutors said they took this to mean Liem would fire anyone who complained about the way hiring was being handled.

Instead, tutors chose to speak anonymously with The Crimson. After the charges were printed, some tutors said Liem conducted a "witch hunt" to discover who had spoken to the press.

Sophie A. Volpp '85, a tutor in East Asian studies, said she was brought to tears after an hour-long meeting in which Liem allegedly yelled at her for speaking to the Crimson. Volpp also said Liem "didn't give me a chance to talk."

Power said Jewett had to intervene in order to stop Liem from firing the tutors who made the charges. She said Jewett told Liem that firing a tutor would be "very inappropriate and harmful to the house."

At a three-hour public meeting on May 4, called by Liem at the suggestion of students, the master promised no one would be let go for speaking about the issue and denied conducting a witch hunt. "I wish not to know who the tutors are," Liem said.

Liem also said at the meeting he would like to codify the tutor hiring process and make it public. Jewett has said he is making informal suggestions to Liem about how to improve the process for next year.

Still, two tutors have already resigned since the turmoil began. Cynthia Palmer, assistant senior tutor in charge of fellowships, and Austin C. Lin, a nonresident tutor in computer science, both said they left in part because of the alleged impropriety and a feeling that Liem was stifling their opinions.

And not everyone is convinced that Liem will tolerate their unadulterated opinions even now.

"There's still a witch hunt," one tutor says. "I don't want to speak out because I don't want any shit."

Peter J. Kolovis '93 says numerous pre-med students are afraid to voice their concern that two brothers, Vincent and William Li, will be co-chairs of the house's pre-med committee next year, for fear of retaliation in the form of negative letters of recommendations from the two tutors.

When only a handful of tutors attended the annual Dunster goat roast, Power said the tutors were "running scared."

"They feel uncomfortable being in a public place," Power said. "Generally people are concerned now about speaking out on the issue of tutor hiring."

Clearly, students and tutors in Dunster feel intimidated. So far, however, there is no proof that their fear is justified, no clear-cut case of retribution.

No one wants to be the sacrificial lamb. But until more people take the risk of speaking out--and goading Liem into retaliating--the fear and discomfort in Dunster house, no matter how real, may seem more like paranoia or cowardice.

'There's still a witch hunt.'

a Dunster tutor, speaking anonymously