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Radcliffe Should Have Had Table SpaceTo the editors:
The article "Radcliffe Denied Table at Extracurricular Fair" (News, Sept. 15) does not sufficiently explain why the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study was denied a table. The article presents only the curious and unhelpful explanations given by Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 and Associate Dean David P. Illingworth '71.
Illingworth's argument that the Institute should not have a table because it has no responsibility for undergraduate education ignores the fact that no other organization at the fair has that responsibility either. Moreover, Lewis's assertion that the Radcliffe Institute does not organize extracurricular activities seems dubious. Among the resources at Radcliffe cited in the Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard are the Mentor Program, the Externship Program, the Radcliffe Dance Program, the Radcliffe Research Partnership Program and the Radcliffe Seminars, all of which invite the participation of undergraduates.
Why, then, has the Institute been denied a table at the extracurricular fair, when organizations which run similar programs (like the Office of Career Services and the Office for the Arts) have not? There was certainly no shortage of space for tables. The wonderful thing about the extracurricular fair is that it advertises a vast and varied array of opportunities for undergraduates. The inclusion of the Radcliffe Institute among these would not have seemed inappropriate to the deans unless they had had some ulterior motive for excluding it.
The reasons for effectively diminishing undergraduates' awareness of the Radcliffe Institute deserve a more careful and critical examination.
Yoho D. Myrvaagnes '01
Simon W. Grote '01
Sept. 15, 2000
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