Russek's Attacks

The tone of Stephanie B. Russek's open letter to Dean Harry R. Lewis '68 ("Dean Lewis Should Respond Positively to Students," April 9, 1996) is so disrespectful it borders on the scandalous. I will not even try to refute Ms. Russek's specious argumentation for changing the term "freshman" to "first-year," though her lack of rigor is alarming, I am much more shocked by her vicious personal attack on Dean Lewis.

Ms. Russek accuses Dean Lewis of disrespecting and disregarding the entire student body, of insulting the Harvard undergraduate woman who was attacked recently, of encouraging sexism at Harvard, of having weak and crude character and ethics and of being ineffective and incompetent.

This sort of diatribe is unacceptable. Ms. Russek's is not Dean Lewis's employer, as she tries to let on ("Without us at Harvard, you would be unemployed."). She is a sophomore who is dishonest and unfair in her arguments, and who has publicly insulted a dean. She should write an apology to Dean Lewis and try to work on her writing, her manners and her humility. --Julian Allen '96