Not satisfied with this explanation, 100 students gathered at the Science Center that same day, 50 of whom marched from Harvard Yard to The Crimson building and staged a rally on The Crimson's steps. In what protestors called a "March for Responsible Journalism and Respect," impromptu speakers voiced their displeasure with Fong's piece as protestors held signs reading "We Want Responsible Journalism" and "Journalism, Not Racism."

"I'm upset because The Crimson and FM edit stuff all the time," protest organizer William L. "Lonnie" Everson '02. "This time there was a lapse in judgment."

Protest organizers also cited what they considered to be a history of insensitivity toward minority groups by The Crimson in e-mails advertising the protest.

The day after the protest, The Crimson formally apologized for Fong's article-and was quickly castigated by conservatives in the national media for abandoning Fong and capitulating to the pressures of political correctness.

Picking up the Pieces

In an attempt to help the campus sort out some of the contentious issues raised by the Mansfield, Horowitz and "Invasian" controversies, Dean Harry Lewis worked with S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, to organize a panel discussion, entitled "Free Speech & Responsible Journalism in the Academic Community."

The panel was comprised of Professors Michael J. Sandel and Pedro Noguera, New York Times columnist J. Anthony Lewis '48, a Crimson editor, and representatives of BSA, Vietnamese Students Association, Chinese Students Association (CSA), The Harvard Salient and The Crimson.

The panel, held on Apr. 17, was poorly attended, according to Lewis, and though numerous points of view were discussed, little was resolved.

For instance, though Sandel and Anthony Lewis are both self-identified liberals, they vigorously disagreed about how The Crimson should have handled the Horowitz controversy.

While Sandel said he thought The Crimson made a "sensible judgment" not to run the Horowitz ad, Lewis criticized what he sees as a "censorial mood" on the Left that he believes is suppressing conservative points of view in the name of political correctness.

Ross G. Douthat '01, editor of the Salient, agreed with Lewis.

"Debates on these issues tend to be debates within factions of the left," he said. "Certain kinds of [conservative] speech are out of bounds."

Harry Lewis says he doesn't know what to think about the Horowitz melee.

"I'd say this is the toughest question that arose this year," he writes in an e-mail.