Good Sports

We agree with the staff's opinion that the athletics department and admissions office wrongly function as cloak-and-dagger operations. Harvard should make the athletics department more financially accountable and should make the Admissions Office more honest in disclosing its policies.

Nevertheless, we dissent because the editorial is wrong on two counts.

First, it argues that Harvard is failing to provide the so-called "basics" to varsity sports. Meanwhile, the College supports more intercollegiate athletics than any Division I school in the country, and is the only Ivy League school not to have cut varsity teams in the face of massive budget shortfalls.

Why? Because Harvard insists on providing the "basics" to all its teams. At the same time, there is some dispute over what these "basics" entail. But this much is clear: Harvard's water polo team cannot expect the same level of support that the hockey team receives; it has neither the alumni, fan, student or media interest to generate such support.

The point about admissions tips is similarly disingenuous. Athletes receive tips because sports are a significant portion of college life and a primary motivator in alumni donations--more so than with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra or the Harvard Advocate. Unfortunately, that's the way it is. By providing a tip, perhaps a stronger one than goes to "stars" in other fields, the admissions office is recognizing a fundamental societal reality.

On both issues, the staff is living in another world.