Students Deserve a Leading Role In IOP

To the editors:

The editorial "Changing the Guard" (Nov. 14) is utterly insulting to the entire Harvard student body. Extra-curricular activities are the lifeblood of the campus, fueled by students' passion for their respective causes.

As members of a large, autonomous organization, Crimson staffers are privileged to write whatever they like and elect whichever staffers they so choose--according to their own collective best judgment. There are no "adults" to interfere capriciously with the process.

It is absurd for the editorial board of a newspaper with a student-run shoot to condemn another influential campus institution, namely the Institute of Politics (IOP), for having student leadership. Student leadership is the key. Harvard students attend Harvard to be leaders, not to be followers.

Hannah Choi '01 has been a tireless and fearless leader fighting to reform its leadership style and include more students in decision-making and planning.

The Crimson staff displays its ignorance by disregarding the great strides made at the IOP under Choi's leadership. Give credit where credit is due, and it this case it lies with demonstrated, skilled self-governance, not rash "reform."

Melissa R. Langsam '00