Nevertheless, we have shown that University Hall--not Counter himself--has not done enough to address other problems and tensions in a community of difference. Counter's specific role in dealing with these broader problems had never been clear. In fact, his official job seems to be limited to "feel good" events.
Some say he shares the task of building racial harmony with Assistant Dean of Minority Affairs Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle, but their interdepartmental bickering has hindered efforts to unify the campus. In the recent controversy, the task of mending campus tensions has fallen to Rudenstine--not to a single designated race relations administrator.
Beginning last fall, we have urged the University to consolidate the Foundation and Hernandez-Gravelle's Office of Race Relations and Minority Affairs under a charismatic leader who can galvanize the campus--all of the campus--around racial harmony. We encourage Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles to move in this direction.
Counter's sensitivity. The recent debate over Counter's ability to deal well with all campus minority groups is not the first. In 1982, The Crimson filed a grievance against Counter for labeling a Crimson reporter a "militant Jew" after having only heard the reporter's Jewish surname.
In addition, Counter has never publicly disavowed comments made in "Racial Slurs," his 1985 Crisis commentary which charged that "para-white ethnic groups" use anti-Black epithets "to convince themselves and others of their imagined white identity."
The article also speaks of "what may well be part of a much larger ethnic scheme designed to denigrate Afro-American and keep them as the focus of negative attention for the American majority." The scheme is led by "Euro-American individuals and special interest groups with powerful influence in the media." We never hear slurs directed at "any other target of neo-Nazi hatred," Counter wrote.
The coded images for the old charge of Jewish control of the media can be easily seen. When asked about the article earlier this month, Counter simply said it mentioned no ethnic groups by name. His inability or unwillingness to see the insensitivity of such an article raises serious doubts about his capacity for bringing all campus groups together--even in the limited role he occupies now.
Similarly, his apologies for the letter fall short. "I am deeply sorry for any discomfort I may have caused any students in Hillel or otherwise in my efforts to raise important issues which are bought to our office regarding problems in race relations," Counter said.
But what about the inaccuracies of the letter? What about explaining Black-Jewish tensions on campus with only a misinterpreted comment from a Jewish student? What about quoting anonymous people who suggest that The Crimson might agree with Jewish racists and selectively blast Black racists?
Counter apologized for those who felt "discomfort" because they misread the letter--not for the specifics of the letter itself. But these were not "misunderstandings" on our part. His refusal to acknowledge and retract the racially charged elements of his letter again raises doubts about his sensitivity.
The campus groups who have registered their support with the embattled Foundation director have neglected to mention the article or the letter. And the signatures of students from Hillel, BGLSA and the South Asian Association are conspicuously absent from "unified" calls to defend Counter.
IF HARVARD is to heal recent campus tensions and go beyond numerical diversity to ease the frictions caused by difference, it must change the current "policy" of dealing with race and cultural relations.
Counter's role in a new policy should remain limited. Under a new policy, he would be the organizer of cultural appreciation events and no more. To deal with real problems of race relations, this campus needs a strong leader who is sensitive to all ethnic groups. Allen Counter in not that leader.
Oddly enough, some progress may come out of this year's conflicts over race and sensitivity. The Crimson has renewed its commitment to seeking out diverstiy on its staff. Some minority groups have aired their concerns about our paper and about other groups on campus. It is only this sort of constructive dialogue--though marred on occasion by insensitive rhetoric--that can begin to heal the problems of diversity at Harvard.