mental, physical and spiritual abilities--something which cannot be measured based on Eurocentric standards," said Kristen M. Clarke '97 and Victoria Kennedy '97 in the letter, printed in full on page two of today's Crimson.

Clarke, who is the president of the Black Students Association (BSA) but did not write in the group's name, said those views are not offered as her own.

"This information is not necessarily something we believe," she said, "but some information that we think those persuing a true understanding of the Bell Curve theory should either address, ignore or refute."

Whitney D. Pidot Jr. '96, president of conservative campus publication The Salient, said the views the letter cited did exactly what liberals accuse Herrnstein of doing.

"[The letter's fifth point] doesn't further debate or discourse," he said. "It just furthers animosity with these statements of superiority."

But the issues raised by The Bell Curve seem to have touched a nerve with students on all sides of the question.

The Debate

Many student leaders said the book's conclusions are offensive and inaccurate.

Xavier Gutierrez '95, who is co-president of the Mexican-American student association Raza, said that the book's conclusion "shows that in this day and age people are just trying to prove that genetically, some individuals are inferior to others."

Guiterrez said he hopes the Harvard name doesn't lend the book legitimacy.

"My fear is that such ideas, such concepts and such theories coming from places such as Harvard have really deep ramifications for academic progress and also for the image of Harvard," Guiterrez said.

Alex Cho '96, who is co-president of the Asian American Association, agreed. Acceptance of the work may reflect larger bias in academe, he said.

"It's very ironic that on this campus, when ethnic studies is being discredited as being political and of shoddy scholarship. The Bell Curve is presented as this firm scholarly work proving a ridiculous premise," he said.

Cho questioned the book's reliance on IQ tests as a measure of intelligence.

"Conclusions based on test scores, whether statistically true or not, make a terrible assumption that's been repeated throughout history and been the cause of much grief in this world in general," he said.