More than 80 students gathered on the steps of Widener library yesterday to protest The Bell Curve, a controversial book on the relation between race and intelligence co-authored by a late Harvard professor and a graduate of Harvard.

The rally, which began at noon and lasted for an hour and a half, was organized by the black Students Association (BSA).

Students held signs bearing the slogans "Break the Curve" and "Embrace Truth, Not Hate."

Kristen M. Clarke '97, president of the BSA, opened the rally by emphasizing the importance and universal nature of the issues raised by The Bell Curve.

"We are here today united, Black, Latino, Asian, Jewish and white," she said. "This is an issue which rests on the top of our agenda."

Clarke then questioned the authors' motives for writing The bell Curve." The real issue at hand is not IQ," she said. "[The authors'] hidden agenda is aimed at eliminating welfare and hurting the poor."

The Bell Curve, co-authored by political scientist Charles S. Murray '65 and late Harvard professor Richard J. Herrnstein, has sparked campus debate over the last few weeks.

The book claims that intelligence, as measured by IQ scores is strongly correlated with race. Murray and Herrnstein argue that social welfare spending is often futile, incapable of overcoming the challenges of lower intelligence.

Some on campus have called for an honest, academic appraisal of The Bell Curve, while others have dismissed the book as outright racism.

Joshua Bloodworth '97, treasurer of the BSA, questioned the credentials of the co-authors. He said Murray is a writer and Herrnstein was a psychologist and "neither is seriously engaged in the biological sciences."

Bloodworth further cautioned against any biologically based theories of racial superiority.

"This is not the first time biology has been used to structure a hierarchy of man," he said. He added that similar views held by eugenicists in the 1920s and 1930s led to the Holocaust.

Dr. S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations also spoke. He labelled the book "atrocious" and called on students to speak up against it.

"I am disappointed in the silence, even in the Harvard community, surrounding the issue," he said. "You can't ignore this, and you must realize that this book is a sad and egregious part of our history."

But Kenneth A. Polite '97 said he saw the book as an opportunity for heightened self-awareness. He said minorities must do more than simply stand against The Bell Curve.

"The fundamental question we must ask for ourselves is What do we stand for?" he said. "I stand for the disadvantaged, the oppressed. We must no longer let others direct our revolution."