My opinion that skin color is a poor proxy for ideological “diversity” does not settle this issue. There is, in fact, a consequence of The Crimson’s color problem. It concerns the supply of news itself. If the campus segments itself racially, events might happen, and The Crimson might never hear of them. Journalists frame the news more by choosing stories and crafting prose to match their respective importances. If we don’t hear about a conflict, or if few of us do, then it likely won’t be considered as important. In short, we need diversity not to satisfy dubious pieties but to make sure we accurately, comprehensively and sensibly cover the campus.

Diversifying The Crimson requires pioneers. Aspiring journalists of color need to test the validity of the stigma. They need to join the comp, write their stories and become role models for other students. Leaders of campus organizations should encourage their members to cross boundaries, real and imagined. The Crimson, in turn, needs to find creative ways to promote its financial aid program.

I made my home not in Lowell House but at a small desk to the right of the white eraser board under the bright lights in the busy newsroom at 14 Plympton Street. The more Harvardians who decide to join, the better, for their knowledge and for The Crimson’s.

Marc J. Ambinder ’01, a history concentrator in Lowell House, was an assistant managing editor of The Crimson in 2000.