More E-mail Courtesy

To the editors:

While we were happy to see The Crimson’s coverage of the Lowell Open debate regarding the appropriateness of sending daily Black History Month facts over the list, we feel the need to refocus the issue given The Crimson article’s focus on the “accusations of racism” in Monday’s article (News, “Accusations Fly in Debate Over Use of Lowell Open,” March 3). Lowell House’s Race Relations tutor and the Race, Culture and Diversity (RCD) Committee, as well as the Lowell House Committee, encouraged the Senior Tutor and House Masters to weigh in because the tone of the e-mails over the House open list was disrespectful to fellow members of the House community whose culture these history facts were attempting to celebrate. We took offense to this cultural insensitivity and disrespectfulness, which was exhibited through scoffing at the presence of the Black History e-mails and dismissing their value as “tangentially related” to the Lowell House Community. Catherine E. McCaw ’03, whose initial posting on the House list sparked the debated, commented, “I was more discourteous than I probably would be in a regular e-mail, but the House list is not like your thesis. You don’t spend hours crafting your words to make them more polite.” Unlike a posting on an open e-mail list regarding laundry, these facts reflect an important part of the culture of people within the Lowell House community and larger Harvard community’s history and culture. We believe that the Black History Month facts were an attempt by a member of the House community to share a piece of his heritage with the House. So in responding to them, unlike a “regular e-mail,” we hope that people take the time necessary to ensure that their words, e-mails, etc. are both considerate and respectful.

Gabriel Abraham, resident tutor

Marcel L. Anderson ’03

Ann M. Morris ’04

March 3, 2003

The writers are members of the Race Culture and Diversity Committee in Lowell House.