Poll Was Inaccurate

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I find myself very frustrated with the analysis of the Crimson poll conducted during registration on student views on the war (February 2).

Your front page declares boldly, "Majority Supports War," while the small print at the bottom of the article reveals that this is a gross misinterpretation of the data. Out of 1000 survey distributed, only 675--or two thirds--were returned.

Considering that the strength of student views would strongly affect their likelihood of returning the survey, these 675 cannot be assumed to reflect the same proportions as those who answered.

On the contrary, the group of non-respondents will likely grow more and more opposed to the war as the human costs of it escalate. Whereas your analysis presents community interest as polarized and well defined, the reality is that many students continue to waver, not entirely comfortable with U.S. policy, but not informed enough to reject it outright. Theodore Timpson '91