Kirkland's Intolerance

To the Editors of the Crimson:

I have been keeping up with the recent articles and "letters to the editor" concerning the dispute over the possible reduction of the number of athlete residents in Kirkland House. In light of Dean Jewett's recent letter concerning University policy on racial discrimination, I would like to offer one other side of the Kirkland issue that simultaneously involves a wider discussion of unacceptable elements of discrimination within the University, which are often neglected because of their subtle concealment.

As a Kirkland resident who is also an honors major and a veteran of varsity athletics at Harvard, I take offense at "dumb jock" slurs and despise that single-faceted stereotype of the house. (That some Kirkland residents project this image is not my concern here.)

As a gay woman, however, recent action by the Kirkland House Masters, Donald and Cathy Pfister, and Athletic Director, Jack Reardon, to discourage freshperson athletes from choosing Kirkland was a welcome and refreshing effort on their part to diversify the social atmosphere for Kirkland residents so that it might compare with the ideal diversity desired for the Harvard academic community as a whole.

Although my comments may seem contradictory, upon closer examination, both my statements and Kirkland's stereotype quandary can be clarified. In the same way that there is an annoying University-wide tendency to identify, unfairly, yet continually, Kirkland's residents as athletes before students, there is an exasperating Kirkland-wide (and University-wide) inclination to overlook, unjustly, though consistently, burning issues of intolerable discrimination that underlie Kirkland's single-faceted reputation.

Too often, offensive words, actions and attitudes are ignored because they are attributed, albeit incorrectly, to a more palatable, though nonetheless fixed, image of Harvard athletes. Because this false image is the standard through which possible lottery changes are being discussed, I do support a reduction of the number of athletes within Kirkland House.

On the whole, I believe that this administrative notion that reducing the number of athletes would be a satisfactory means of diversifying the Kirkland environment is a superficial one, based on an incorrect analysis of the athletes themselves and the true elements that inhibit the development of a more diversified Kirkland atmosphere. Athletics may be the most obvious source of Kirkland's uniformity, but it certainly is not the proper identification of the more detrimental elements within the Kirkland stereotype.

Sexism, heterosexism, and often racism, on the other hand, are the major contributors to the demeaning, though, unfortunately, honest stereotyping of Kirkland House. Too often the preponderant ingredients of Kirkland's degrading characterization--overtly male-oriented, strongly homophobic, predominately white, and often intolerant--go unacknowledged and sometimes unrecognized by students and administrators. Moreover, these elements are usually misclassified as latent qualities of Harvard athletes, and subsequently dismissed by many persons inside and outside of the house. These excusing attitudes and misnomers are the real barriers to achieving a profound and beneficial diversification of Kirkland House.

I do not feel that I am generalizing, because I acknowledge that, as always, there are many exceptions. I also realize that there are many students and tutors in the house, some of whom fit the stereotype and others who do not, who are not interested in the problem and are perfectly content to be living in the existing intolerant environment--so I do not speak for them. I also am not trying to denigrate Kirkland House as a whole; there is a genuine, friendly, and fun-loving quality about the house and many of its residents that can and should not be dismissed easily.

Furthermore, events of recent months, which were simply too offensive to be overlooked, finally stirred several concerned Kirkland students and tutors into discussing these problems in an open forum with the masters and senior tutor, who were a receptive audience. It is this kind of progressive action that should recieve attention from other members of the house and the Harvard community, not rehashes of unfair, inappropriate, and dated stereotypes of Kirkland residents.

What I hoped to accomplish by writing this letter are private recognitions and public acknowledgements of the real problems of Kirkland's reputation on campus. It is unfortunate that the cowardly whitewashing and misnaming of these elements of discrimination and intolerance in Kirkland House, which have produced an atmosphere there that is inconsistent with University standards for diversity in education, have forced the airing of Kirkland's dirty laundry beyond the confines of its own walls. It is imperative that a new perspective on this dilemma be gained and a more courageous stance for its resolution be made by all of the students and administrators involved.

In that regard, I would like to add that I sincerely hope that the Masters Pfister and Mr. Reardon, when addressing freshperson athletes about the housing lottery, will not influence these students away from Kirkland simply because they play a sport. Instead, they should advise them that if their athleticism (or any other feature of their individuality) incorporates offensive components of sexism, heterosexism, racism or any other form of intolerance, they will not be welcome, nor will any bigoted actions be condoned, in Kirkland House (or anywhere else on campus).

Such a measure would enhance the atmosphere of the house by broadening the educational horizon of its residents, and would eradicate unappreciated stereotyping of athletes within Kirkland House and the University as a whole. More importantly, such a stance, by refusing to hide detrimental discriminatory elements behind legitimate guises, would advance the University's progress towards its goal of creating and maintaning an ideal--educational and tolerant--social atmosphere for all of its undergraduates. L.T.