Ethnic, Gay Studies Discussed

Activists for ethnic and gay studies argued that Harvard needs to take steps to advance the prominence of those subjects in its academic curriculum and social life at a panel in Emerson Hall yesterday.

Alex H. Cho '96, a representative of the Ethnic Studies Action Committee, said Harvard needs to provide ethnic studies as a means to prepare students to confront an ethnically fractured society.

"We are not honest about American history," he said. "We need a formal academic inquiry to face the peculiar American experience of race."

He argued that the only way to heal the fractures is by challenging the "white, male, triumphal" view of the history of America and to take seriously into account the perspectives of Latinos, Asian-Americans and Native Americans, among other ethnicities.

A representative from the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Student Association recounted his organization's struggle with the administration for recognition, funding and inclusion.

Joshua L. Oppenheimer '97-'96, the political chair of the BGLSA, addressed current initiatives for a resource center and incorporation of gay studies.

"Harvard must take proactive steps to replace what randomization dissolved," he said, referring to the void which Adams House has traditionally filled as a haven for the gay community.

Oppenheimer said students who are "coming out or thinking about coming out need a warm, supportive space," and charged Harvard to provide this through a resource center.

Cho and Oppenheimer spoke as part of a panel discussion sponsored by Education 4 Action (E4A). The event was part of E4A's Annual Action Week

Natasha D. Bir '96, who introduced the discussion on behalf of E4A, said she saw it as "the beginning of a progressive union among students [to end] academic violence," the neglect of significant areas of study which leads to "seen and physical" acts of violence.