Ali says charges that the BSA is encouraging its members to separate themselves from the rest of the campus community are unfair.

"The people who are accusing us of Black separatism are not making any attempts to incorporate us sincerely into the Harvard community," he says. "We are so indoctrinated to appreciate and love everyone else that we don't take time to love ourselves, appreciate ourselves. I don't think that's in any way, shape or form separatism."

Don't blame us for coming together to keep each other warm when you locked us out in the cold. We're not going to be knocking on this door forever.

Zaheer R. Ali '94

Ali says Black students are not at Harvard to serve as ambassadors to broaden the horizons of white students.

"We're not going to waste our time with trying to convert white people into loving us," says Ali. "We're here to be students just like everyone else. White students for the most part don't have to run around trying to convince Black people to love them."

Ali authored an article in last week's Independent which parodied the "paranoia" of white students in the Quad over "the Black presence."

The article, which Ali says was drawn from his personal experience, has prompted a vigorous debate on campus.

"People have paranoia when they see Black students together," he says. "It's almost as if we are planning or plotting something. Those who question or feel uncomfortable about a strong Black presence need to examine their fears and their apprehensions."

Ali's article last week is part of a broader indictment of the College's highly touted claim of "diversity."

"Sometimes people want diversity but they don't really want diversity," he says. "Their idea of diversity is, to use an analogy, a grain of pepper in a pound of salt. That's not diversity."

"I think some people's concept of diversity is assimilation and yes, a student center would prevent that," he says. It would be a preservation of cultures."

For Ali, the remedy to Harvard's racial tensions begins with "establishing a strong pillar of support for the so-called minority community."

In recent weeks though, Epps' over-haul of the College's race relations bureaucracies has caused the gradual cession of the powers of Counter and Gravelle.

But Ali says empowering such minority advocates--rather than reducing their roles--at the highest levels of the College administration would send a signal to students that the College has their interests in mind.

"I think that would begin easing the tension that we experience as far as feeling locked out, says Ali. "We do feel locked out and we don't have the keys to get in."