“We took his leaving as an opportunity to celebrate the fact that he couldn’t go to work today,” the student said.

As the day wore on, trash accumulated on tables around the building and half-eaten cans of peanut butter and bags of bread covered most surfaces. Piles of fruit littered the main hallway.

The ranks of the picketers outside swelled throughout the morning. At its peak yesterday during a noon rally, more than a hundred supporters circled around Mass. Hall in support of the occupiers.

To the beat of a drum and tambourines, Offner responded to yesterday’s Harvard News Office press release.

She countered the claim that only 400 workers earn less than the $10.25 per hour figure, saying a broader definition of the word “worker” reveals that more than 1,000 workers earn such poverty-level wages.

“This is a horrific thing that needs fixing today,” Offner announced to the cheers of the assembled crowd.

As the day wore on, University spokesperson Joe Wrinn and Associate Dean of Harvard College David P. Illingworth ’71 quietly observed the events and chatted with the protesters through the open Mass. Hall windows.