Racially-Defined Clubs Create Community

To the editors:

We were disturbed by Richard Johnson's opinion that "racially-defined clubs, of which the 'Asian American Christian Fellowship' (AACF) is [an] example, create distrust in our society" (Letters, Feb. 10).

Virtually all campus clubs cater to specific interests--such as community service or politics--and ethnicity is no different. Part of the purpose of Harvard's roughly two-dozen "racially-defined"clubs is to celebrate their respective cultures, not to exclude or denounce any other culture.

The abundance of these organizations also highlights the richness of cultural diversity upon which Harvard prides itself; it is important to not confuse "ethnic-specific" with "exclusive."

In AACF, Johnson's statement has rekindled an ongoing discussion examining the purpose of our ethnic-specific ministry. AACF specifically exists in order to minister to the needs of the Asian American community at Harvard, offering a setting that encourages students' exploration of Christianity and other faith issues in the context of their Asian American cultural identity. While a multi-ethnic setting might not preclude this, an ethnic-specific setting facilitates this exploration by concentrating on issues more commonly experienced by Asian Americans.

Good intentions aside, Johnson's comment reminds us of the unfortunate fact that some people may feel excluded because of the "Asian American" distinction in our name and purpose (although AACF warmly welcomes all students). Does diversity have value when the celebration and appreciation of a culture remain within a group? Yes, but not when it breeds distrust.

Diversity has greatest value when ethnic solidarity is paired with cross-cultural exchanges, so that it benefits mainstream culture as well as minority groups. Perhaps the next step toward achieving an environment in which ethnic-specific clubs can be viewed without suspicion, is to encourage interaction between the groups and the rest of the campus. AACF and other ethnic-specific organizations have the potential to dispel distrust, but this will only be possible if there is a genuine effort on the part of the groups to reach outward, and on the rest of the campus to reciprocate.