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To the Editors of The Crimson:
In April of 1980, over 1000 undergraduates chanted the word "bullshit" in unison in response to the University's stand on divestment. Unlike the rosy picture drawn for the pleasure of administrators and distinguished alumns in the July 20 New York Times Magazine, many, both within and outside the institution have come to view it as, even more than most universities, merely a highly political (in the worst sense) bureaucracy. In this view, Harvard does not even seriously attempt to maintain high standards of integrity, ideological even-handedness in its faculty hiring, concern for the education and well-being of its students, or social responsibility.
One illustration should suffice. Over the past 15 years, the social status of Black students at Harvard has steadily shifted until, by 1980, the average Black family income of the entering freshman student approached the national average in a nation with vast and increasing racial inequality of income. You would think that Harvard would be more concerned with diversity of leadership than with kowtowing to dominant conservative undertow--if you were unfamiliar with Harvard. Concerned students, faculty, and alums at this and other educational institutions should come together to rectify this situation.
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