While the success of the Crimson gives Harvard much cause for celebration, it also draws attention to the peculiar status of football as the only varsity sport in which postseason play is banned in the Ivy League. The presidents of the eight colleges should reverse their current stance prohibiting their football teams from participating in Division I-AA postseason competition.   Nov. 24, 1997

VOTE `NO' ON GRAPES

We urge you to vote no on table grapes because currently there is no safe option for Harvard if we care both about the conditions of the workers who pick the grapes pesticide levels on our grapes. With the no option, grapes will come to Harvard tables only when the working conditions are improved through the work of the United Farm Workers (UFW)....

The [Grape] Coalition does not even take on one of the UFW's main assertions: that workers are not free to unionize or to express grievances. The Coalition points to the small size of the union as proof that workers feel satisfied by conditions, but growers have routinely intimidated their workers with the threat of being fired to prevent them from participating. It is not good enough for individual Harvard students to choose each morning if grapes should be shunned; as student body we need to stand up and be heard, for the rights of those workers toiling away in California.   Dec. 3, 1997

BROKEN TRUST

This week's rape and assault allegations against Kirkland House sophomore Joshua M. Elster have shocked the Harvard community. Whether or not the allegations prove true, Elster's arrest has served as a catalyst for overdue discussions about the prevalence of rape and date rape on campus and it has exposed the University's ability--whether intentional or not--to suppress sensitive, yet public information....

The report of the incident and Elster's arrest did not appear in the HUPD [Harvard University Police Department] blotter and the relevant incident numbers were skipped. HUPD claims the reports were misrecorded in the blotter, a record that is public for the sake of student safety. For breaking the law--and its trust with the student body--the HUPD should be investigated by state authorities.

The University has also been negligent in its silence. Kirkland House did not hold a meeting after students saw Elster arrested Saturday afternoon. House administrators should have, at the very least, made an effort to quell rumors about the incident by giving its students the facts of the situation...Regardless of the outcome of this case...the College should mount an awareness campaign about rape on campus and, like many other colleges, hold mandatory information sessions on date rape for all students.   Feb. 5, 1998

STANDING FIRM AT HLS

Harvard's stance on discrimination in the U.S. military is about to affect its pocketbook. Under the provisions of the Solomon Amendment, this fiscal year Harvard Law School (HLS) stands to lose almost $1 million in federal grants due to its ban on military recruitment at its Office of Career Services (OCS). The ban, which exists because of the military's policy regarding homosexuals, is an important measure of protest that HLS should uphold. The loss of funding with which the law school is threatened is an act of aggressive financial coercion which inappropriately ties scholarship money to the school's right to uphold its on-campus non-discrimination policy.

HLS does not permit recruiters from any organization to make use of its OCS without signing a non-discrimination agreement. The U.S. military should be no exception. Regardless of one's opinion concerning the functional necessity of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, it does represent a form of discrimination against homosexuals. HLS has the right to keep any organization that maintains such a doctrine from making use of its facilities.   Feb. 24, 1998

VICTORIOUS HOOPSTERS

The Harvard of the West may have a verdant campus, warm winters and Chelsea Clinton. But it no longer has a chance at the NCAA women's basketball title.

On Saturday night, a magical Crimson team stunned every fan in America with a hard-fought 71-67 victory over Stanford, the number one seed in the West regional. It was the first time in history that a number 16 seed made it past the first round and the first victory ever by an Ivy League women's team in the NCAAs; the game will go down in the annals of college basketball as one of the most dramatic upsets ever....

Even after losing two of its stars to knee injuries, Stanford--champions of the Pac-10, winners of 15 straight, participants in last year's Final Four, fifth-ranked going into this year's tournament and dubbed by some as the "team of the '90s"--seemed a Goliath of the first rank. And yet, on Saturday the Crimson reminded us that on the basketball court, as, we like to think, in life, anything is possible.... In the second half, the Cardinal crept within striking distance as Harvard missed shots and committed costly turnovers. Stanford even managed to grab the lead by three with 3:58 to play. It was then, with the crowd of more than 5,000 standing and screaming for victory, with Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith looking worried on the sidelines, with viewers around the nation expecting what was only logical to expect--that the favorite would at long last prove its dominance--that this Crimson team reminded us all of its own incredible talent and unflagging spirit.   March 16, 1998