'Villainous' Portrayal Unfair

To the editors:

The "objective" caricature constructed by The Crimson of Joshua Elster described him as a quiet and introverted individual. This vague, derogatory profile is just as easily placed on any one of us wrested from our abbreviated adolescence to labor in this warped microcosm we call Harvard. The characterization lent nothing to the issue and served to further pinhole Elster into a largely villainous portrayal. If the editors had any intention of accurately and honestly informing the student body, they would never run a story like this until they had more information than two lines in a police blotter and a couple statements from random segments of the student body.

Clearly, rape and sexual violence of any sort are intolerable. Victims who have the courage to come forward and face the perpetrators of sexual crime are to be commended, and their anonymity is a welcome facilitator of this bravery. However, this situation is still at the stage of accusations and denials. It is unfair to defame and publicly prosecute the parties involved when the facts and even the charges are not fully known.

Unfortunately, The Crimson has already done its deed, and regardless of the decisions made by the legal system, Elster will never be acquitted from public defamation and permanent stigma. We, as a community, can also thank The Crimson for pompously calling the nation's attention to Harvard, with empty articles on issues more real and tragic than The Crimson can fathom.

The Crimson is morally responsible to report issues like this which affect the Harvard community. Yet they owe the community the truth, which can only be reported when more relevant facts are known. We, and the rest of the more ethically responsible members of the Harvard community, await an official and just resolution for all those involved in this tragic issue. OGNJEN KAVAZOVIC '00   CHIQUI O. MATTHEW '00   Feb. 4, 1998