Department Justified

"The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color-line." W.E.B. Dubois's classic statement is still true. Harvard's refusal to establish a standing committee on ethnic studies indicates a serious lack of vision.

An Ethnic Studies department would address marginalized peoples in America--primarily Latinos, Asians and Native Americans. The staff's complaint that the "diverse American peoples of European ancestry" would be ignored is ridiculous. We don't need any more classes about white people. From elementary school, we are taught about the heroics of every white American from the Pilgrims on. Ethnic studies would tell hitherto untold stories.

Ethnic studies would follow in the fine tradition of the Afro-American Studies department, although it would have a broader scope. Like the Afro-Am department, it would use the study of race and culture not only as a lens or methodology for examining America, but as an end in itself. Just as studying Black America is best served by a single department, ethnic studies should not be divided among various concentrations. Establishing an Ethnic Studies department is an essential step to attracting academic luminaries. Would Henry Louis Gates or Cornel West be at Harvard if not for an Afro-Am department?

Ethnic studies deserves to be a coberent department because the current ad hoc committee fails to meet students' needs. Many of the courses listed as "related to ethnic studies" in Harvard's course catalogue are merely area studies of the Caribbean, Vietnam, China, etc.

The staff unfairly criticizes ethnic studies as "inherently political," citing the use of protests reminiscent of the 60s But like those protests, the call for ethnic studies has the moral and intellectual high ground.