Leftism?

To the Editor of The Crimson:

On March 7, 33 members of the staff of the Harvard Crimson declared their preferences for president of the United States, and every one chose a Democrat. One hears a great deal these days about biases of various sorts, including biases in the press, so it is natural to ask how biased an outlook this vote betrays.

The American population in recent presidential elections has divided within a few percentage points of a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans. In a population thus equally divided, the probability of drawing 33 Democrats and no Republicans by chance is less than one in 8 billion. The Crimson surely does not present a representative American political outlook. In a population divided three to one in favor of Democrats, which is the proportion among our undergraduates indicated by the Crimson's poll of students, the chances are somewhat better: less than one in 13,000. Even in the Harvard context, the Crimson's position is far to the left. Richard J. Herrnstein   Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology