H-R RAZA

To the Editors of The Crimson:

As the only campus organization representing Chicanos at Harvard-Radcliffe, we the Chicanos at H-R RAZA would like to express our deep concern for the method that Sigma Alpha Epsilon chose to publicize their recent mixer. By employing a poster that depicts a stereotypical "Brother Chico", SAE is guilty of at best a gross indiscretion and insensitivity, or at worst, overt racism.

The significance of SAE's action goes far beyond that of a simple jock fraternity prank, rather it serves to symbolize the prevailing attitude towards Chicanos, at Harvard and the society Harvard represents. Actions such as these are but a small part of a more general, more subtle, and more sophisticated method of institutional racism. The total lack of a representative Chicano population at Harvard, the lack of Chicano faculty or courses, let alone a department (No concentration in Latin American Studies is offered), all testify to Harvard's systematic neglect of the Chicano population, or for that matter the Third World population.

It is tempting to dismiss SAE's action as a trivial, though tasteless act, but the fact that the individuals responsible felt no hesitation in exploiting a racist image, speaks not so much about these individuals but of the social establishment that perpetuates such acts. When one considers that one out of every four Chicanos lives below the poverty line, then actions like those of the SAE leave the realm of triviality. Such actions symbolize as well as contribute to a system of gross inequities. Enrico Moreno '78   For Harvard-Radcliffe RAZA