WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

To the Editors of the Crimson:

With reference to your supplement on foreign students at Harvard, published last Wednesday, the undersigned feel that this was an unrepresentative account of the situation of such students.

Over half of the students mentioned were freshmen, hardly a representative cross-section of the foreign community; only two seniors were mentioned, one of which is an advanced-standing student, and the other has been a resident of this country for much of her life.

Your article does not reflect the geographical balance of foreign students at Harvard. Over two thirds of the students interviewed were from Asia; only two Latin Americans and three Europeans were mentioned. Such a narrow focus cannot produce a balanced view of the feelings of foreign students.

It should also be placed on record that the attempt to start an international organization last year did not fail through lack of funds, but rather through a majority feeling that such an organization was unnecessary. Its supporters were almost exclusively non-European women, who have this year established their own international women's group.

While your coverage of only undergraduates is understandable, it should be pointed out that these comprise less than a fifth of the total number of foreign students at Harvard.

We would, however, like to thank the Crimson for drawing attention to the unique problems faced by foreign students at this university. John Jakenfelds '79   Neil Martin '77   Andreas Paepcke '78   Liliana Scagliotti '76   Alison Shaw '79   Andrew Ward '79   David Woods '76