Protest Speech Misquoted

To the Editors of the Crimson:

On both February 6 and 7, The Crimson quoted the following material from a speech I prepared to be read at the protest rally outside Leonard Jeffries' speech in Sanders Theater:

"I believe it is crucial for the Leonard Jeffries and David Dukes of the world to freely express themselves."

In fact, the entire quote reads as follows:

"Given our continuous denial of the presence of racism and anti-Semitism in our society, I believe it is crucial to permit the Jeffries and David Dukes of this world to openly express their views--and in so doing, confront ourselves with the painful reality of the bigotry present among us and the need for continuous work to combat is."

Obviously the "edited" version of this statement that The Crimson printed does serious injustice to the point I actually made in my speech. At best, this represents irresponsible journalism; at worst, it indicates exploitation of the privilege you wield in conveying "factual information" to the Harvard community.

I would also note that your statement that I was "one of the few officials not on the scene last night" (February 6) reflects a characteristic negativity you employ in reporting about my roles in University activities which is unfounded and inappropriate. For example, you did not report in your Feb. 6 article that I was one of the few University officials who actually made a statement as part of the rally.

Your actions as journalists are serious beyond the degree of misquotation. Your consistent misrepresentations of me and the Office of Race Relations and Minority Affairs actually undermine the ability of the Office to fulfill its mandate: to facilitate the experiences of members of the Harvard community with diversity and racial harassment on campus and in general. This is difficult work; the distortion of my words and activities of the Office by The Crimson propagate the difficulties of students who need to feel and know that there is an Office available and working to assist them.

I urge you to consider the great responsibility of the role The Crimson has chosen in reporting campus events. I hope that in the future, The Crimson's coverage of the Office of Race Relations and Minority Affairs will more closely reflect the work that we do. Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle   Assistant Dean for Race Relations   and Minority Affairs