Lowell Bells ‘Imprisoned’

To the editors:

I am offended and disgusted at the elitist chauvinism displayed in Friday’s Crimson editorial (Editorial, “Our House, Our Bells,” Dec. 13). It is not our place to belittle and ridicule the value of the bells to the Russian people, nor compare it with our own convenience and monetary expense. Harvard students probably wouldn’t even notice if the bells were replaced with any other set of bulky and painfully mistuned relics. In contrast, residents of Moscow clearly consider the bells to be symbolic of a tradition that was rudely interrupted by Soviet oppression. It is arrogant and disgraceful for us to throw some food at “starving Siberian children” and tell them to be satisfied while we meaninglessly imprison a symbol of their pride and heritage.

Kai-Hua Yu ’04

Dec. 15, 2002