'Something of Value'

To the Editors of The Crimson:

The controversy sparked by the editorial of Professor Bernard D. Davis in the May 11, 1976 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine about minorities at medical schools was something of value. It demonstrated that racist remarks (regardless of whether their maker intended them to be racist) will not go unchallenged.

I am grateful for the statements opposing Professor Davis which were issued by Dean Robert Ebert of the Harvard Medical School and President Derek Bok. Their involvement demonstrated that the interests of higher education and this University are at stake if attitudes of racial prejudice become the basis of educational policy and practice at Harvard.

The apology by Professor Davis was something of value, too. Confession is good for the soul. This letter expresses the hope that he will be forgiven by those against whom he has transgressed and that all may learn from this sorrowful situation that racism has no place in higher education at Harvard or elsewhere. Charles V. Willie   Professor of Education and Urban Studies