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To the Editors of The Crimson:

I was appalled at the general tenor of Mr. Peter Melnick's article on minority recruitment which appeared in the January 23, 1978 Crimson and amazed at the number of erroneous attributions and misrepresentations contained therein. Since the recruitment of talented minority students is one of the vital concerns of the Admissions Committee and Mr. Melnick's article contained so many misimpressions and fabrications, I am compelled to set the record straight on two of the more egregious inaccuracies.

First, the statement attributed to me suggesting a dearth of talented minority students is a complete misrepresentation. My point was simply this: unless one lives in Alan Dershowitz's world, it must be patently obvious, for all the well documented sociological and economic reasons, that the minority pool of applicants for highly competitive colleges will be a relatively smaller one than the comparable majority pool. No amount of wishful thinking can alter the effects of the pervasive disadvantages which minority students face at all levels of their education. While there is considerable room to improve the efficacy of identifying and recruiting talented minority students in the existing pool, substantial expansion of the minority pool will occur only when there is a fundamental change in the educational opportunities available to this country's minority populations.

Second, the Admissions Committee is fully committed to the involvement of undergraduates in the recruitment process. Our experience has been that students are effective in identifying and encouraging talented high school students to apply and, upon admission, to come to Harvard/Radcliffe. Minority students have been extraordinarily helpful in recruiting minority high school students for the colleges and, contrary to Mr. Melnick's conclusions, their efforts have been held in highest regard by the Committee. --Robert P. Young, Jr. '74

Melnick responds:

I do not believe I misrepresented the views of Bob Young or anyone else involved in the minority admissions program, and I stand by my article.