Students Not So Selfish

To the editors:

Andrew Green's "Treatise on the Millennium" (Feb. 3) is perhaps one of the most self-righteous articles ever to appear in The Crimson. The open-minded liberalism he longs for on campus is itself incredibly close-minded.

Green basically asserts that if a person does not agree with his political views, that person is neither a liberal nor concerned for our fellow human beings. In contrast to his observations of a selfish student body, I see a college full of people involved in activities working directly with others to improve our campus and the surrounding community. The fact that many students choose to tutor Cambridge students or participate in Habitat for Humanity rather than lead a rally on Nigeria does not make them any less liberal or concerned for others.

As for his views on the Undergraduate Council, Green seems to be the selfish one. I think I speak for many Harvard students when I say that I vote for council representatives to mediate between myself and the administration. Therefore, people such as Beth Stewart '00 concern themselves with the needs of the undergraduates. While Green frames the grape issue as elitist Harvard students acting selfishly, he is the one who appears elitist in claiming that the council's Student Affairs Committee "should voice student concerns" not only to the administration, but also "to the world".

While I support the council, I do not want the council speaking to the world on my behalf. Green's brand of liberalism excludes all those who do not agree with him. Perhaps Green would be better off if he stopped "shaking his angry fists at the campus" and started using his hands to do something more useful than writing a self-righteous condemnation of the Harvard student body. TERRENCE M. McNEIL '00   Feb. 3, 1998