A Real Stand On Divestment Would Be To Leave Harvard

To the editors:

Re: “Seniors Protest PetroChina Ties” (News, Feb. 18):

If Harvard students feel strongly enough to organize a boycott of a $10 gift (which I believe is a noble and worthwhile display of political activism), why are we so quick to keep paying the Corporation $40,000 per year? It seems to me that if we really wanted to make a statement, we would boycott Harvard entirely, not just the class gift. That’s right: don’t go to class, barricade administrative buildings, disrupt the operations of the University, and sure as hell don’t sign away any more of your money to a Corporation that supports genocide. If we want to put our money where our mouth is, let’s do it with something that counts: our tuition.

ANDREW L. KALLOCH ’06

February 23, 2005