To the editors:

I want the two students involved in the sexual assault cases (News, Feb. 19), as well as the many other students on campus who have survived rape or sexual assault, to know that I respect their strength and perseverance.

They are dealing with a situation I can scarcely comprehend, let alone face, and they are doing extremely well. Rather than being victims, they have proven themselves to be the most powerful and courageous members of our community.

I can't fathom the willpower it takes to make it through each day: to get out of bed, to eat or to talk. They have gone on to pick out classes, buy books at the Coop and turn in problem sets. I wonder if I could do the same job maintaining a focus on academics and other seemingly peripheral activities. They not only survived being assaulted, they have overcome it and have not allowed it to rule their lives.

They have been forced into a situation no one could expect to face. To further exacerbate its complexity and immensity, the Harvard administration and Ad Board harassed and deserted them when they needed them the most. Yet the survivors are still here. It tears at my heart to hear of their Ad-Board horror stories. I am ashamed to be associated with such a backward policy. I am saddened that Harvard abandons its students in their time of greatest need.

I hope that their bravery in coming forth to point out what has been so long neglected at Harvard will provoke discussion and change. By not expelling the rapists on campus, the Ad Board is revealing to all its priorities: lying about one's SAT scores is more serious than brutally assaulting a fellow human being.

The College seems unembarrassed at not having set a precedent for expelling those convicted of rape or sexual assault Ignoring rape on campus does not make it go away, rather it condones it by allowing rapists to go on unpunished.

Joseph W. Lind '99

Feb. 22, 1999