Outcome on Grapes Should Be Respected

In the Dec. 10 staff editorial, "After Grapes: Where Is Our Conscience?", The Crimson editors commit the unfortunate sin of condescension. The entire grape referendum has seen too much of this disgusting attitude toward students. Perhaps with the end of the referendum it's time for it to stop. It was bad enough when Harvard Dining Services started referring to the grape issue as the "Great Grape Referendum." "Look, look," the capital letters in the title seemed to be saying, "I am the most important political issue in the world." Students were told that this issue should take precedence over all others just by the capital letters.

The Crimson editorial correctly points out that both sides in the grape debate used dated information or catchy slogans. The Crimson editors are wrong, however, in omitting themselves from the parties which contributed to the unfortunate state of the debate. By arguing that this was a simple matter of human rights, the editors oversimplified a complex political issue. Students were either for human rights and therefore on the side of good, or in service to their palate and therefore servants of evil. A newspaper should serve to enlighten its readers, not to tell them what to think.

"Sadly," states the editorial, "the majority of the student body chose to place their confidence in the grape farm owners." The editors do not allow for any other possible motivation. Everyone who voted "yes" is automatically branded as a supporter of greedy capitalism and an enemy of human rights. The condescension here is clear: Crimson editors set themselves up as the enlightened ones, having the right to judge their peers from their politically correct vantage point. Such an attitude is not only insulting, it is also inappropriate. I know where my conscience is, and so do most Harvard students regardless of whether they voted "yes" or "no".

Crimson editors are understandably upset, for they have discovered that they do not control public opinion and that the majority of Harvard students are capable of making choices without the help of its daily paper. Harvard students should be praised for their independence of thought, not questioned as to the state of their conscience. The Crimson editors should learn to accept defeat gracefully and without condescension. --Roman Altshuler '01