HDS: OUT WITH THE OLD...

We thank Harvard Dining Services for its well-meaning effort to diversify its meal selections, but we ask it stop serving us Chinese entrees. Wednesday night's "Sweet and Sour Chicken" was neither sweet nor sour. It was only spicy, and it was possibly the worst dish that has been prepared since humans mastered the use of fire.

We couldn't rid its flavor from our mouths. The Sprite was too tame to conquer its flavor; the chicken's juice spread like a cancer through the rest of our plates. First it took over the rice, then the pasta. One friend of Dartboard was lucky enough to move his roll from his contaminated plate before it was too late.

The "Sweet and Sour Chicken" is not an isolated example of bad Chinese cuisine. We do not know who General Wong is, but we believe he has confused the roles of military strategist and chef--his chicken has probably killed more people than his soldiers. Not even Food Lion would be willing to sell the cuts of meat used to prepare it.

Harvard Dining Services should hold its Chinese food to the same standard that we hope it uses to select the rest of its entrees: choose meals that a sane person could be expected to eat. No rational individual would ever eat Grade F chicken covered with the substances used to defoliate trees in Vietnam.