No Quotas in Admissions

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Contrary to an assertion in an otherwise informative December 3 Crimson article ("Touching All of the Bases"), Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges have no quotas, goals or targets for the admission or enrollment of minority students (or for students who could be assigned to any other categories, such as geographical areas).

The Crimson was mistaken in its statement that a "1990 federal investigation revealed that the Harvard admissions office kept quotas for Asian students." In fact, the thorough review conducted for over two years by the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights found no evidence of quotas in our admissions process.

Indeed, in announcing the review's conclusions, former Secretary of Education Lauro F. Cavazos referred to the Harvard admissions process as observing the "principles of justice and equity." Since the late 1970s, the percentage of Asian Americans in each entering class has risen from approximately five percent to over nineteen percent. William R. Fizsimmons   Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid   Marlyn McGrath Lewis   Director of Admissions