Minority Support

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Recently there has been much controversy concerning the Freshman Dean's Office refusal to print Third World and Women's activities in the official Freshman Week Calendar. As an Asian-American woman, I feel that this refusal to print such activities is yet another failure on Harvard's part to support its Third World and women students.

Like many other freshmen, when I was deciding what University to attend. Harvard sent me brochures assuring me of its highly-prized diversity. There was even a Third World pre-freshmen weekend where many of the Harvard administrators came out in force assuring all of the pre-freshmen that when and if we came, there would be official Harvard support networks here for us.

Well, we came. And to our surprise, all those official networks have seemed to disappear into the Harvard woodwork or have never appeared. For example, for freshmen there are no minority senior advisors on this campus. There are only 11 minority proctors out of 60 for the Third World freshmen that make up 23 percent of the class of 1986. I can say that for me and for the 10 percent of my class that is Asian-American, it has been frustrating at times knowing that not one proctor or senior advisor is Asian.

In addition, none of the Freshmen Dean's Office staff is a minority and there is no student input into the FDO's official view on Third World student needs and concerns. A Black student needs to know that there are certain areas in Boston to which he or she cannot go. Recently, in response to a woman student's claim that ethnic identity and gender were an important part of one's "Harvard experience." Dean Henry Moses replied. "I do not think that ethnic identity or gender were an important part of every piece of one's life."

Harvard also lacks minority faculty. Next year, there are no new minority junior faculty or tenured faculty being hired. Presently, there are only 3 percent minority tenured faculty at Harvard and only 16 or 17 of the several hundred tenured professors are women. Where can minorities and woman look for role models?

Finally, Harvard (unlike Yale, Princeton and Brown) lacks a Third World Center. Harvard and the Freshmen Dean's Office, in refusing to list Third World and Women's events on the official Freshman Week Calender, will fail to support its minorities and women once again. "The Third World Students Alliance and the Radcliffe Union of Students have the support of over 700 students who signed a position calling for the listing of these events, as well as the unanimous support of the Undergraduate Council. No, I do not dislike Harvard. I love it. However, everywhere Third World and woman students were for support, they are consistantly refused. Whether or not these activities do get on the official calculate, there will be events sponsored by students for this Morning women and Third World freshmen. But Harvard, please don't disappoint them or us again. Pauline W. Chen '86   Co-provided, Radcliffe Asian-American   Women's Group   Co-vice-president, Harvard-Radcliffe Asian-   American Association   Member, Third World students Alliance