Currently charged with two counts of drug possession and four counts of intent to distribute, seniors Stephen V. David '96 and William A. Blankenship '96 will not march in today's Commencement ceremony.

The pending criminal action prevents the former Currier residents from maintaining "good standing with the University," a condition required in order to earn a Harvard degree.

The College administration will not consider their standing until the cases against the two seniors have been settled in court, which will likely take an extended period of time.

At Middlesex Country Courthouse yesterday, David and Blankenship's pre-trial conference was again granted a continuance, this time until June 27th. At the first pre-trial hearing on May 22, a continuance was granted until June 5.

On April 11, the two seniors were charged with two counts of cocaine possession with intent to distribute and multiple counts of illegal drug possession. They were additionally charged with two counts of intent to distribute drugs near schools or parks, since Gilbert Hall, the building in which they lived, is within 1000 feet of Peabody School, an elementary school.

The charges resulted from a six-to eight-week drug investigation by the Harvard University Police Department, which was partially facilitated by student informers and an undercover cop posing as a student.

While student sources pinpointed the initiation of the drug sting to a student health emergency during a party in Currier G404, the room of Shameel Arafin '97, who may also be facing administrative board action, Harvard Police Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley said in an interview that the investigation had actually begun much earlier.

"One person was concerned about their roommates' health," he said, and others had come forward with concerns about student welfare earlier. As a result of this student input, Riley added, "several things came to light."

While Riley did acknowledge that "a medical emergency in the Quad of a student from another, nearby university led to the discovery of the possession of controlled substances on another student," he also said that other sources had allowed them to identify major players in Harvard's drug community.

The investigation culminated on April 10, 1996, at approximately 9:15 p.m., when Harvard University Police officers executed a search warrant for the rooms of students Stephen David and William Blankenship, rooms 416 and 417 in Gilbert Hall of Currier House.

Harvard police say they discovered quantities of ecstasy, LSD, mushrooms and marijuana. The two students were arrested.

Blankenship and David were first transported to Harvard Police Department headquarters and then taken to Cambridge Police Department for booking and holding.

They were both released the following day on $250 bail, paid by a fellow student, Tracey E. Guice '96 of Pforzheimer House. Both students pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The sale of narcotics to an undercover officer, who was introduced to Currier social circles as the friend of a student, led the police department to believe that Blankenship and David were distributing drugs on a large scale, Riley said.

Currier House Master William A. Graham Jr. said he had been informed of a campus-wide drug investigation involving narcotics officers but was not sure whether or not the undercover police officer in the case was present in Currier House at any time.

Citing ongoing legal proceedings, Allson Burr Senior Tutor of Currier House John D. Stubbs refused to comment on the presence of a narcotics officer in the House.