Green Party Deserved to Have Voice Heard in Article

To the editors:

I was pleased to see an article in the Crimson on Feb. 4 detailing the Green Presidential Debate held at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) last Thursday (News, “Hopefuls for Green Party Presidential Nomination Debate at KSG”). As Harvard Republican Club spokesperson Lauren Truesdell noted in the article, “No Green candidate has generated a significant amount of press activity.” This article marks a step toward fair coverage of the Green candidates for president.

I found it quite interesting, however, that while Crimson reporter Ivana Katic contacted both the Harvard College Democrats and Republicans, she made no effort to contact the Harvard College Greens for commentary on the debate. Unlike the members of the Harvard Democrat and Republican clubs whom Katic contacted, members of the Greens were not only co-sponsors of the KSG event but were, in fact, present at the debate and would certainly have had more to add to Katic’s analysis of the debate itself than the tired comments made by Andy Frank of the Democrats and Truesdell of the Republicans.

Indeed, Frank’s comment that, “If members of the Green Party wish to have their agenda heard, they should work within the machinery of the Democratic Party,” is indicative of the very problem which Katic’s decision only to speak with Democrats and Republicans highlights. The Green Party is not part of the Democratic Party, and is no way required to function within the “machinery” of that party or any other.

The presumption made by both Frank and Katic, that Democrats have more to say about Green politics than Greens themselves, is indicative of the larger problem with The Crimson’s failure to interview members of the Harvard College Greens for this article.

By spreading the misconceptions of Democrats like Frank, who did not attend the debate and know little about Green politics, the Crimson continues a long tradition of misrepresenting the Greens in the American press. In spite of the old saying that, “Any press is good press,” unbalanced articles like this one, based on stereotypes and misconceptions, add little to readers’ understanding of the issues involved. Perhaps The Crimson will consider contacting a member of the Harvard College Greens the next time you report on an event which we sponsor.

Stephen Milder ’04

Feb. 4, 2004

The writer is a member of the Harvard College Greens.