BUT THE CRIMSON article revealed something even more insidious at work: Third World-minority students have themselves fallen into the trap of thinking they have to agree. Maybe it shouldn't startle me; our views about race are also shaped by the society in which we have grown up and the Harvard environment.
The story quoted one student as criticizing the Third World Students Alliance pamphlet as unrepresentative of "the views of the minority students who are here." Just what are the views of Harvard minority students? It is an impossible question to answer. To begin with, there is the problem of defining "minority;" is it those who checked the box on their application or the ones who go to AAA, BSA, Raza, La O and AIH meetings?
This is simply the wrong question to ask. And asking it can be paralyzing. TWSA does not purport to speak for every minority student on campus. It is an alliance of some members of five organizations which represent some Asian-American, Black, Chicano, Native American and Puerto Rican students.
It will be a sad day when the TWSA decides not to publish a booklet or hold a rally or write a letter because they do not represent the "minority students who are here." The TWSA booklet interpreted the history of Third World students here at Harvard, and did so with, in my opinion, some valid political goals in mind. The booklet represents the views of some minority students here.
Minority students who disagree with its interpretations and conclusions should feel free to obtain funding--perhaps with the help of the college--and do the hundreds of hours of research to put together another booklet. And, of course, they should feel free to criticize this booklet. They have no right to assume, however, that its distribution should come to a halt because it did not involve the majority of minority students.
The attitude that we, as minority students, must agree before we act is paralyzing. It can stop leaders from acting; it can quash the voices of those most committed to a group. Let's get the word out.