GREEKS AT HARVARD

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I am writing in response to the article on Greek students which appeared in the Harvard Crimson of November 13. Reading it was not a very pleasant experience. My objection stems from the probably well intended effort of its writer to make his article interesting by giving it a controversial, perhaps scandalous, content. The article describes Greek students by classifying them in two extreme contradictory categories: future revolutionaries or future cadres of imperialism. It says they form "the most political student group in Cambridge," "they are generally rich" and are occupied by the dilemma whether "Greece should ally with Russia."

Of course the reality is quite different. The Hellenic Students Association is a broad and non-partisan group. All its members would strongly condemn a military government in Greece as well as any foreign involvement favoring it, but this is what 99 per cent of the Greek people did in last Sunday's elections in Greece. Our intention is not to decide on Greece's allies but to keep alive amongst us here the Greek culture and the realities at home. All the stands that we have taken never represented a narrow but often a unanimous majority of our membership which represents a wide band on the political spectrum. We take pride in that the Hellenic Students Association functions in the most democratic fashion and it is painful to read in the Crimson article that the Association is of a "totalitarian radical" nature. The use of the term "totalitarian" seems absurdly unjust when used to characterize a group of people who have risked a lot to oppose a totalitarian government in Greece. The quadrupling of the membership of the Association in the last two years hardly suggests the adoption of undemocratic or extremist practices.

Finally I would like to express here my disagreement with the assertion that Greek students are alienated from the American society. They may be critical of some of its aspects, correctly mentioned in the article, but this is not enough to imply alienation. Michael Caramanis   President, Hellenic Students Association

Readers of the Greeks piece should not have confused comments about the Hellenic Students Association made by disaffected members with the reporter's opinions. My own impressions of the organization--which I hoped would surface in the unattributed statements in the article--were extremely favorable.

My statement that Greek students are rich enough to afford American educations was poorly worded. Nonetheless, every student I spoke to agreed that the constituency of Greek students here is largely upper-class and most linked this status with their ability to go to school in America.   --Philip Weiss