The Mail A PAINTER'S OPINION

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

Some students find it hard to believe that any university would have racist hiring practices, but it only takes a little common sense to see that under our economic system it naturally follows.

People believe that the university is a place of free exchange of ideas, that the university teaches students to have a broader view of the world, a more complete understanding of other people and cultures, and with that a more tolerant and brotherly attitude toward man.

This just isn't so. The university is supported by big business, wealthy men, and government grants, directly, Indirectly all this money comes from exploiting the workers and the resources of the country. One of business's manin means of exploitation is racism. It naturally follows that if businesses make huge profits by promoting racism. they are not going to allow the university to teach anti-racism or to be anti-racist: the university that did would soon be without donors.

A year and a half ago Harvard started the Painters' Helpers Training Program. Previously it had advertised for journeymen painters, but because of the low wages was unable to get them. This Helper Program was designed to hire qualified black painters as helpers. The applicants were told that there were no openings for journeymen at this particular time and that if they could perform the work satisfactorily they would be promoted to journeymen within the year. A year later this program and these men found that they would not only have to stay in this program for another year but also have to go to school six hours a week besides.

When some of these men appealed they were told that they had to go to school; otherwise they would never get journeymen's pay-this by the Joint Apprenticeship Committee, which is composed of four men from Harvard and four from the Union. In this particular appeal two apprentices (one had quit because he was unable to spare the time to go to school) faced 15 men and one woman (more union and management, I suppose). The apprentices represented themselves.

To summarize what has happened: one helper has a management position and 17 students have been suspended. On the positive side two helpers have been promoted to journeyman, and black and white workers and students have begun to come together to fight back against racism and other injustices.

Racism is created and promoted by greedy men for economic reasons. By paying black workers less you can threaten whites that they can be replaced by blacks. Thereby you exploit both. But racism goes beyond economic reasons. When people believe in racism they become less than human and they teach their children to be the same way. They become half human. They are filled with fear, mistrust, and hatred. Racism is evil. It should be fought.

'UTTERLY STUPID'

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

How utterly stupid! Isn't there brains and/or brawn enough in the Harvard student body to prevent rowdies from the outside raising Hell in Harvard Square giving Harvard, also the whole Peace movement, a bad name?

Or was this idiotic performance indeed essentially a Harvard student demonstration?

FORTRESS U-HALL

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

Of all the senseless, defensive measures taken by the University, I wonder if you are aware of this very trivial one.

Building and Grounds has just completed installation of bars across all the basement windows in University Hall. At $100 per grill (a workman's estimate, and excluding labor costs), our office alone has $1100 worth of "protection." Similar protection is being afforded basement windows in every building in the Yard.

The installation of emergency locks on glass doors in University Hall I bore with good humor, even though the cost of the glass the anticipated invader would break in order to reach his hand through to unlock the lock was smaller than the cost of the lock itself. But bars on the window are another matter. In our office, they are screwed into years-old wood which would never withstand a good, strong kick, negating their effectiveness at the outset. The assumption that protestors would sneak in a basement window rather than march openly through normal entryways I also find offensive. Barred windows will not stop revolution and I feel it is a needlessly expensive indulgence of a frightened University.