Finn’s Arrogant Jibe Merits An Apology

To the editors:

I don’t think I’ve ever come across a Harvard student who is as nakedly condescending as Brian A. Finn ’06 presents himself in his recent comment, “The Name is Not Enough” (Nov. 13). Finn’s complaint? That the MAC is open not just to undergraduates, but to “anyone at all associated with Harvard”—that is, to the countless resident tutors, administrators, security guards, cafeteria workers and janitors who are charged with making his life here as pleasant and convenient as possible. Finn even asks us to empathize with him for occasionally having to wait “behind some fat, middle-aged lady” to use the treadmill, or for having to “share sets with a bald guy wearing bike shorts.”

Given these remarks, I’ve no doubt that Finn is a resplendent physical specimen, and that he’s up-to-date on all of the latest trends in athletic apparel and sportswear. But this scarcely seems like a license to direct such sneering comments toward the entire Harvard community. I hope he has the good sense to offer an apology.

John C. McMillian

Nov. 13, 2003

The writer is a tutor on the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature and a resident tutor in Quincy House.