Peninsula President G. Brent McGuire '95 said the book reveals the uselessness of many liberal governmental policies.

"One of the most valuable aspects of The Bell Curve is that it brings out in stunning detail how ineffective so many of the government's social programs have been over the years," he said.

The book's effect is positive because it brings to light issues which people have long been reluctant to discuss, McGuire said.

Dialogue

Much of the public exchange on the issue has been on the pages of newspapers and magazines, both on campus and off.

At Harvard, both sides have written for The Crimson's editorial page, in commentaries and, today, a letter.

Many students say the book is little more than 552 pages of academically glossed bigotry.

McGuire launched the recent exchange with an essay entitled "Defending the Bell Curve," in which he suggested a link between race and intelligence.

"The gap between upper-class whites and upper-class Blacks (although the IQs of each group are higher) is actually wider than the gap between lower-class whites and lower-class Blacks," he wrote. "This fact, borne out by decades of scholarship, strongly suggests a genetic component."

In their letter's first paragraph, Clarke and Kennedy offer opposite views.

"Carol Barnes notes that human mental processes are controlled by melanin, that same chemical that gives Blacks their superior physical and mental abilities," they write.

Their own views on the book, Clarke and Kennedy said, are contained in the letter's last few paragraphs.

"It seems that whites have grown tired of hearing about racism," they write. "So some have turned to measures such as The Bell Curve to believe themselves of blame."

Reactions to both sides of the published debate varied.

Student leaders said they disagreed with McGuire and endorsed Clarke and Kennedy's second paragraph opinions.