Defending Affirmative Action Easy for Those Chosen

To the editors:

I would applaud the editors' commitment to affirmative action if only I knew they really meant it. Those of you--whether student or faculty--who support affirmative action should put your own careers on the line: Offer to give up your position at Harvard in favor of a minority applicant who was denied admission or tenure. Until you make such an offer, I will have to doubt your sincerity. It's all too easy to favor affirmative action once your own seat in the Harvard class or your own tenured position on the faculty is secure. JEREMY BUCK   Cambridge, Mass., April 16, 1998