Secret Santa and Kirkland House Traditions

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I am amazed by how completely Madhavi Sunder has misunderstood and misrepresented recent discussions of the coming holiday activities at Kirkland House, as well as the context of these discussions ("Kirkland Master Slams Secret Santa Rituals," Dec. 7).

A participant in these discussions since students first initiated them two years ago, I feel compelled to address some of Sunder's misrepresentations. Contrary to her report:

Master Donald Pfister's recent letter to students, the ostensible occasion for the article, was not written to villify our Secret Santa activities or any of our students, but to offer context for a decision regarding the scheduling of our holiday dinner and dance, to clarify concerns about excesses, and to appraise students of past complaints, as the letter states clearly. The letter nowhere calls for new rules for this year's events. No rules or guidelines for these activities have ever been issued by the masters--these guidelines originate in a student/tutor committee, following house discussion, and students, tutors and masters alike have consistently preferred self-regulation to imposed rules of censorship. Similarly, it was student concerns, not the master's fiat, which led to new Secret Santa revelation procedures for this year's dance.

Sunder's article, and perhaps some of our students, have chosen to view these discussions among ourselves with a peculiarly conspiratorial twist. By nearly universal consensus here, we have occasionally experienced instances of offensive or violatory behavior in the past. As Master Pfister's letter points out, these may well be isolated incidents, but they also color our perceptions and inform our concerns. Would anyone among us argue that it is reasonable or appropriate, for example, to demand a blow job for a bottle of Freixenet, or to call someone a "faggot" because he or she refuses to have sex? These concerns stem not from a desire to impose puritanical standards, but from a desire that a genuine sense of community and respect prevail at all times.

Violatory incidents may be isolated, and they may be confined to the past. Our ongoing discussion presumes no present or future behavior, however, nor does it characterize all behavior in terms of excesses; it only serves to heighten awareness and to inform. At Kirkland House, we have chosen to engage in a continuing dialogue about such issues because we care enough about the well-being of our whole community to talk about it from time to time. Ms. Sunder's misunderstandings only serve to perpetuate the worst stereotypes of our house. The Crimson has chosen to portray as "dirty laundry" what have, in fact, proven to be constructive discussions among people for whom differences of opinion are less important than a shared sense of community. Paul Bohlmann   Kirkland resident tutor in history