Different Prices at 'Tribute' Inappropriate

To the Editors:

I regret that there exists at Harvard an event called a "Tribute to Black Men" (News, Feb. 4, "Johnson Honored With Vanguard Award by ABHW"). But more troubling is that a party attached to the event gave "free admision for black men arriving before 11 p.m." Do we really want to see social events with different prices for people of different races? I think racially-defined clubs, of which the 'Asian-American Christian Fellowship' is another example, create distrust in our society. Differential pricing takes the element of segregation to a worrying new level, and I wonder if it's even legal. Instead, I encourage Harvard students to welcome all kinds of other students into their social lives.

Richard G. Johnson

Feb. 5, 2000

The writer is a resident tutor in Eliot House.

EU Right To Ostracize Austria

To the Editors:

I was shocked to read your staff editorial "Austrian Isolation a Mistake" (Opinion, Feb. 8), in which you accuse the EU member states of a "reactionary frenzy" against the new government coalition between the Social Democratic Party and the Austrian Freedom Party (FP). Your argument leaves it unclear in which way the EU countries' decisions to "downgrade Austria's diplomatic status" could lead to a backlash strengthening the support for the FP. The EU's reaction has instead strengthened the backs of the thousands of Austrians marching in protest against the new government in Vienna. The fact that the two coalition parties were both "democratically elected" also does not mean that the majority of the voters agree with the FP, which in fact holds little more than 20 percent of the seats in parliament, and there was no opportunity for voters to express their opinion about the decision to form a coalition.

This diplomatic downgrade furthermore does not imply complete isolation--a purely political measure is not an economic embargo. Neither does this mean that the other EU member states will cease to "attentively watch Austrian political developments"; a diplomatic downgrade does not imply averting one's eyes from the issue but rather is a signal of serious concern.

Furthermore, the "downgrade" is entirely in line with the laws of the European Union. Under the title "Threats to Democracy Through Extreme Parties and Political Movements," the EU unanimously passed a bill which "appeals to the Members of the European Union to deny all support to extreme parties of a racist or xenophobic character, including the refusal to cooperate with any elected representatives from such parties."

I would rather not wait until the new government "has done anything tangibly wrong" or used "any extra-democratic means" and then try and remedy a situation beyond redemption. As a citizen of Germany, I am painfully aware that waiting and hoping is not the right approach.

Cathrin B. Bauer '00

Feb. 8, 2000

Race Not a Factor in Council Dispute

To the Editors:

The recent developments in the Driskell-Burton saga leave me both frustrated and dismayed (News, "Council to Vote Next Week on Burton," Feb. 7). The possible impeachment of Undergraduate Council Vice President John A. Burton '01 is by no means the source of this discontent. While I feel that he is in the wrong, hopefully by now we realize the general frivolity of the council and especially the small impact that the loss of one officer will have on the life of the College. The extremely troubling part is the instant reaction of some to bring in skin color and racism. Must we really be so petty? This is not a vast right-wing conspiracy or the work of a prejudiced Harvard plot. Not everything is about race. I was glad to see that issues of skin color never came up in Burton's election, so why should they come up in his fall?

Clay B. Tousey '02

Feb. 7, 2000