Also, how can Epps base his new race relations initiatives in the houses, if he does not ever address the diversity of the student body or the diversity of house life?

Changing the house system or the way housing is distributed is a complicated matter. But the race offices--responsible for fostering a diverse community--should be making an evaluation of house populations and thinking about the best housing system for creating a community that can live, eat and work together in the same house.

This is not just the domain of the Committee on House Life and Associate Dean of the College for the House System Thomas A. Dingman '67--not if Harvard wants to seriously address how students relate to one another. All the talking and retreating in the world won't make any difference if Harvard students cannot live together and make efforts not to have any contact with each other within the mini-communities of our houses.

And finally, how can Epps foster diversity when the faculty, the student body and the curriculum do not adequately reflect the diversity in the country? The passing around of this problem from one administrator to the next does little to foster good relations among students and the University.

Epps plans to talk about race relations during orientation week, and that is a good goal. But how can that be successful if the student body discussing race is not a diverse one?

What the current University policy towards race relations lacks is a long-term vision that creatively addresses the problems we face in school and beyond. As long as we keep only building on past programs and structure, and keep passing the buck to other administrators, Harvard will never be able to make real progress in race relations.

We'll never get into Group I like that.