Bok & Bok

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I am gravely concerned over President Derek Bok's statement on Friday, admitting his complicity in the letter sent to all alumni by the Board of Overseers President Joan T. Bok '51. The letter, which was enclosed in the same envelope as the ballot and which was written on official Board stationary, purportedly exists merely to "inform" alums of the unusual nature of this year's Overseers election, an election in which three candidates are actively campaigning in favor of divestiture. Regardless of the letter's lack of ehtics (not to mention the insult to the intelligence of Harvard/Radcliffe alums), I find President Bok's statement in itself highly offensive and misleading.

The last paragraph of the statement reads, "In light of the above (the controversy over the letter), I continue to be prepared to share in the responsibility for any criticisms of the letter and its contents." I would ask President Bok, "continue" with respect to what? Until Friday, his position, stated publicly when he came outside to address the University community at the request of the Open University, was that Joan Bok's letter was written completely on her own initiative, without the prodding of anyone else.

This seems to me to be a strange sort of continued sharing of responsibility. In addition Friday's statement would seem to make his earlier position an outright lie. Is this the kind of treatment students and other members of the Harvard/Radcliffe community deserve?

I would hope that this one step be President Bok can be seen as evidence of the University's desire to engage students in meaningful discussion on the topic of divestment, and on any number of other concerns relating to the community. However, given the record of falsehoods, half-truths and evasiveness on the part of the president and others, my hopes are exceedingly small. Jerome Hodos '89