Pollock wrote that he "call[ed] upon [LeVine]to avoid unnecessary expense and other adverseconsequences from litigation by resolving thismatter by circulating to each person who receiveda copy" of the minutes a statement apologizing toWitzel.
Garzilli also said that one graduate studenthad side-checked her in the Department's office inan attempt to provoke her and that another hadtalked about her sex life in class and hadplagiarized a paper out of a book.
The two graduate students strenuously deniedGarzilli's claims, calling them ridiculous.Another graduate student said that Garzilli is"out of her mind" to claim such things.
Garzilli said that she was surprised thatpersonal differences interfere with academics atHarvard, but others said that it is Garzilliherself who is injecting personal differences intothe Department.
Homans said the lawsuit enters an unchartedarea of law.
On the one hand, the defendants must be able tojustify their actions, Homans said. The plaintiffdoes not have to show malice. But, on the other,the plaintiff is required to show that thestatements are unjustified, he said.
While Eck and Bol's motives may not bemalicious, some graduate students say Eck and Bolmay have reason not to wish to work with Garzilli.
Professor Bol, who is currently on sabbaticalin Japan, said he was brought in as an outside inan effort to restore order to the department.
Bol said he was "amazed" when he was told ofthe lawsuit, but declined to comment furtherwithout seeing the lawsuit.
Garzilli said she took her complaint toHarvard's Commission of Inquiry, which is chargedwith redirecting complaints and inquiries to thecorrect Harvard authority, but was told byProfessor of Philosophy Warren D. Goldfarb, thecommittee's chair, that there were no grounds forthe commission to become involved as both theDepartment of Sanskrit and Indian Studies and theOffice of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts andSciences (FAS) were already fully involved.
Ryan said that Homans has said he iswithdrawing his complaint and filing another one.Homans said last week he is filing an amendment toGarzilli's complaint, adding information aboutKnowles and Fischer.
Homans said it will take at least eight monthsfor the suit to come to trial once filed. He hasrequested a jury trial.
Sources have told The Crimson that the numberof outside graduate students being admitted to thedepartment has been lowered so as not to aggravatethe department's current troubles.
In addition, the sources predicted that Witzelwill not be put in a position of authority when hereturns in the fall.
Khan Professor of Iranian P. Oktor Skjaervowill be the Department's chair, beginning thisfall.
Graduate students say that Wolff and Fischermade some improvements to the Department thisspring, including advancing a faculty search toits current ad hoc stage.
Professor Leonard der Kuijp's appointment iscurrently in ad hoc, and he may be appointed afull professor in the department, graduatestudents say.
But some students said they fear that whenWitzel returns from Asia he will destabilize thedepartment.
"Nothing has really changed," one student said."When Witzel gets back, everything'll be back tousual."
Other students said that enough improvementshave been made that Skjaervo should be able toestablish order.