To the Editors of the Crimson:

Last Tuesday night in Lowell Dining Hall I witnessed the Lampoon's derogatory imitation of the Harvard Opportunes. Although the prank cannot be faulted for its general idiocy and lack of humor, it ought to be denounced for its slanderous nature. Lampoon members, with the intention of visiting all of the House dining halls, poorly sang a medley of Christmas songs, falsely advertised themselves as the Opportunes, and "encouraged" everyone to attend their concert on Friday night.

The Lampoon's prank would not have been offensive if it had not used to Opportunes' name of if it had occurred at some other time of the year when the Opportunes did not actually have an upcoming concert. Because the real Opportunes indeed do have a concert this Friday, the prank possesses malicious overtones. Since the Lampoon members never correctly identified themselves, some people, who have never witnesses the fine quality of a real Opportunes performance, actually believed that they were hearing the Opportunes sing.

I am sure that the Opportunes name and announcing their upcoming concert was not a necessary element contributing to the thrust/humor of the prank. The Lampoon performance could have been just as "entertaining" if they had announced themselves as a caricture of all a capella groups or had made up an original name for their group. It is misleading and unfair of the Lampoon to single out a specific group on campus and falsely advertise their upcoming event. It would be very unfortunate if some people were dissuaded from attending the Friday night jam because of the poor performance and poor taste of this Lampoon prank. Theresa Amato '86