Raza, La O Members Upset About Letter From Knowles

More than 70 Latino students voiced frustration at meetings last night about Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles' response to a request for greater representation in the curriculum and faculty.

Raza President Lilia Fernandez '95 and La O President Efrain Cortes '94 earlier this week requested a meeting with Knowles to discuss the dearth of courses in Latino studies and the faculty hiring issue.

Knowles, in a written response Thursday, told the students that he was unable to meet with them and asked them to speak with other officials, including Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III and members of the Harvard Foundation's academic affairs committee.

"I felt really offended by some of what [Knowles] said," Cortes said. "In essence, he said it was a race relations issue...we feel it's an issue of faculty hiring." Fernandez said she was "kind of disappointed but not surprised" by the dean's lukewarm response.

Epps, currently Harvard's coordinator for minority and intercultural affairs, usually does not handle curricular issues. The two groups have already brought the issue to attention of the academic affairs committee.

The students said they were also troubled by Knowles' refusal to meet with them.

"It was really upsetting that he couldn't find 10 minutes to speak to us about it," Cortes said.

Members of both Raza and La O discussed the issue at separate well-attended meetings last night. A number expressed outrage and some confusion at the current situation.

Many students at the Raza gathering emphasized the need for a stronger Latino presence in Harvard class offerings and senior faculty.

Cortes said that students at the La O meeting, which was closed to the press, "felt belittled...they felt [Knowles] just didn't care about the issued itself."

Leaders of both organizations have said they intend to continue pressuring Knowles.

Cortes said La O will probably continue to work through official channels, but he has already been in contact with the leaders of other ethnic organizations and says some action of protest is possible if authorities are uncooperative.