From the Times: Inside the large auditorium where long red velvet curtains hang from cathedral-style windows and oil paintings of prosperous and powerful men line the walls, hundreds of Yale University students packed in to hear the introduction to a course about the transformation of the modern city, using New Haven as the model. But as Prof. Douglas W. Rae began his lecture on Thursday, he was soon drowned out by sounds of the transforming city outside: blaring horns, pounding drums and the angry voices of striking Yale workers singing the old Twisted Sister song "We're Not Gonna Take It." "Let's stop and talk about this," Professor Rae said, interrupting his lecture and moving from behind the lectern on the stage. "They are getting to me," he said. "This is not easy." That, perhaps, was precisely the point. On most prestigious college campuses, it is easy for students, most of them comfortable and confident, to ignore the people who sweep out their dorms, tend their manicured quads and dole out burgers at the campus food court. But this week at Yale, with 2,000 technical, clerical, service and maintenance workers on strike as students returned to school, the fault lines of class and status separating what some here see as the blue bloods versus the blue collars were revealed in a particularly stark and glaring way. Take the protest Thursday night outside the house of Yale's president, Richard C. Levin. As men in smart navy suits, well-heeled donors and other supporters of the university made their way into the house for a reception, hundreds of protesters clogged the sidewalk. Some wore sandals, others sneakers or working boots. They stamped their feet, rattled soda cans filled with coins and shouted from megaphones. From inside the three-story red brick house, the guests peeked out from behind white shutters only to be met with cries that Mr. Levin face them. For the majority of the workers, the main issue is one of respect... "If you're the premier university in the country, bring us up to that caliber," said Lyle Widdows, who works in the dining services. "I am proud to say I work for Yale; I just wish Yale would feel the same." Gerry Chabbuck, 46, a worker in the animal research department, said part of the problem was simply the way negotiators for Yale talked to the workers. "Their attitude is that we should be grateful to work for wonderful Yale," he said. "Do it and like it."