Mansfield Should Stop the 'Gratuitous Hurt'

Professor Harvey C. Mansfield's recent remarks on homosexuality that have been reported in The Crimson prompt me to urge him, even to beg him, to please stop it, stop the gratuitous hurt or pain that he is inflicting on so many of his students and colleagues. I am not referring to the kind of pain that sometimes accompanies exposure to knowledge or a truth that we do not like. I am referring to the kind of shabby, completely undocumented, ignorant and insulting remarks he made about homosexuality.

In addition to the moral issue of gratuitously hurting so many people, I am also concerned about the bad scholarly or intellectual example that he sets. He is, after all, a professor--his failure to marshall any evidence to back up his claims cannot be good for the students of this community.

But this is not mainly about scholarship. Once again, it's a plea for decency in Professor Mansfield's treatment of human beings who are different from himself. Even in an era of so-called grade inflation, I could not give a grade as high as a D to Professor Mansfield on Decency--on this issue, I'm afraid he gets a failing grade. Cynthia Verba   GSAS