Give HPU Credit for Debate

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Your article of November 15 concerning the Harvard Political Union-sponsored debate between the Association Against the Absence of Religion and Morality (AALARM) and the Arts Organization for the Advancement of Sexual Minorities (ORGASM) contained certain subtle mistakes which I thought it necessary to clarify.

The subheadline of the article read "Two Groups Engage in Lively Debate at Kennedy School Forum." While the two groups did engage in lively debate, it was not held in the Kennedy School Forum. First of all, the debate was held in Starr Auditorium--in the Institute of Politics--and has no affiliation with the forum events which are held in the ARCO Forum.

Second, the discussion was sponsored by the Harvard Political Union, which is an activity of the Institute of Politics (IOP). In other words, the event was developed, sponsored and directed by and towards undergraduates, not our graduate student colleagues.

The purpose of the Institute of Politics is to encourage undergraduate participation in public service. As a program of the IOP, the Harvard Political Union (HPU) is being developed to promote discussion and debate on issues of interest to the College.

Our events are not designed to be, as Crimson reporter D. Richard deSilva put it, "confrontations," but as forums for open exchange of ideas. That is why HPU invites students to "Open Debates"--discussions between the audience (in other words, the College community) and student panelists. In fact, in an HPU debate, the audience speaks for a greater length of time than the debaters do.

The IOP, and specifically, the Harvard Political Union, are undergraduate activities. Consequently, the Crimson's error of associating the AALARM v. ORGASM debate with the Kennedy School has serious connotations. Neither the Kennedy School nor the Forum office at the IOP were responsible for the debate of November 14. The credit--and the blame--go to the Institute of Politics and the Harvard Political Union. Mukhlis S. Balbale '92   Chair, Harvard Political Union