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To the editors:

We are writing as a follow-up to Irene B. Janis's "No One Should Be Laughing" (Opinion, Oct. 5). Janis makes an excellent point: There is nothing funny about rape or other crimes of sexual violence, nor should they be portrayed as joking matters.

We are writing on behalf of the entire staff or Response, one of the five peer counseling groups on campus. We are concerned that Janis's piece gives the impression that there are no resources on campus to help those concerned about, affected by and dealing with these traumatic issues. We want to make it known that we are one such resource and serious about helping the community.

Response deals primarily, although not exclusively, with issues surrounding relationships, harassment, sexual abuse and rape. We are trained and supervised by the mental health staff at University Health Services and the Bureau of Study Counsel.

Our staff consists of 20 undergraduate women, all of whom care deeply and seriously about these issues. We are a confidential hotline. We take calls and drop-ins from men and women, on or off campus.

We are not here to judge or label your experiences, nor to make light of them, only to support you unconditionally, whatever your concerns and however you wish to handle them. We also have an extensive library of resources and can refer to services both within and outside the Harvard community.

While we do deal with many of the same issues as Peer Relations/Date Rape Education (PRDRE), the group that Janis discusses, we are separate groups with different training and entirely different approaches to addressing these sensitive issues. Our focus is on counseling anyone with concerns, and we take this work extremely seriously.

Please feel free to contact us, for whatever reason, any night of the week by phone from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. (5-9600) or to drop by our room in the basement of Lowell House F-Entry any night between 8 p.m. and midnight. We strongly believe that if something is bothering you, it's serious enough to call.

We commend Janis for her regard for these issues. We hope that we have clarified our role and the serious commitment that our entire staff holds to helping those who seek us out and to creating a strong support network for dealing with sexual violence at Harvard.

The Response Co-Directors

October 7, 1999

Due to the sensitive nature of the work of Response counselors, the staff chooses to remain anonymous.

Adamsians Selfish

To the Editors:

I am writing to express my annoyance at the selfishness of the Adams House residents who support the recent decision to more strictly enforce their no interhouse dining policy by adding stickers to Adams residents' ID cards.

When Adams tightens their bans, not only are Quadlings majorly inconvenienced, but so are those of us who live in Quincy House. Since Adams started enforcing their ban last week, Quincy dining hall at noon has become a complete zoo. I had to wait five minutes today just to get my card swiped, and then it's almost impossible to find a place to sit, especially if one wants to have enough seats to be able to sit with friends.

While we in Quincy House welcome our Quadling brethren and would never enforce the interhouse policy that's officially on the books, the overcrowding is getting out of control. I really find it incredibly selfish and arrogant that some Adams residents care only about their own housemates and aren't willing to admit interhouse diners to help alleviate the congestion elsewhere.

I hope that the residents of Adams House will have a change of heart and accept their classmates who are not fortunate to live so close to the Yard instead of maintaining their "I-live-closer-than-you-so-there" attitude and making lunchtime congestion in Quincy House double.

Benjamin I. Krefetz '00

Oct. 4, 1999

Pforz-What?

To the editors:

Regarding the recent initiative to ban Adams House residents from eating at Pforzheimer, there's just one point I'd like some clarification on. Pforzheimer: Isn't that that Vietnamese restaurant in The Garage?

Colin H. Wood '00

Oct. 5, 1999

Hicks Column Hits the Mark

To the editors:

I would like to defend George W. Hicks (Column, Oct. 1) and his point of view against the onslaught of intellectualism that has been written against him. To begin, Hicks's article was not only about the woman perched in front of J. August. He wrote about begging, panhandling, those that do it--and he used her as an example. We have all seen her, we have been asked for change by her, and most of us, at some point in time, have found the idea of an obese beggar amusing, if not counterintuitive. Maybe she is fat because she eats fast food. Maybe she has a glandular problem. Maybe there is some evil capitalist socioeconomic principle at work and we are all in danger. I don't care. Tell it to your gov section.

Terence S. Dougherty '00

Oct. 4, 1999