Pidot's Opinions Mischaracterized

I wanted to clarify what I felt was a misleading statement in Todd Braunstein's summary of the debate on The Bell Curve ("Student Leaders Debate Book," news story, Nov. 17, 1994). While Braunstein claims that I "agreed with the conclusions of The Bell Curve," it is not the case that I agree with all of them, including the most controversial.

I remain disturbed by the authors' attempt to make inferences about native cognitive ability on the basis of IQ scores, and was not convinced by their efforts to do the same. As I reiterated at the debate, I remain firmly committed to our government's responsibility to offer a premier education to all of our nation's youth, but I am an equally strong opponent of affirmative action programs which seek to "level the playing field" after the fact.

The Bell Curve is not limited to Chapter 13, and I do indeed agree with many of its conclusions and implications, including those on the merits of affirmative action. Braunstein, however, implies that I have fallen for the controversial claim about blacks' native intelligence--and this claim is simply untrue. Whitney D. Pidot Jr. '96

The writer is president of The Harvard Salient.