LETTER: Popular Rhetoric

To the Editor: Much of what we believe about other ethnic groups is established long before we get to college. Placing us in common living quarters will not necessarily erase any of these beliefs. There are approximately 656 undergraduate black students on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Of those 656 students, approximately 80 to 90 choose to live in DuBois College House. At most, this translates to only 13.7 percent of all undergraduate black students. The next time Steinmetz chooses to write a column, he should use actual numbers instead of loaded phrases such as " . . . many blacks (my emphasis added) choose to live in DuBois." I am sure you will agree that 13.7 percent does not represent many. Statements like this allow him to make broad generalizations that are not true and allow him to get away with not providing any actual data to support his hypothesis. If he is sincerely concerned about not having any black students on his floor, there are a couple of choices open to him. He can apply for living space in DuBois College House for the 1993-94 academic year. Contrary to the message the illustration accompanying his column suggests, DuBois College House is not for "blacks only." He is free to examine the effectiveness of the University's efforts to recruit black students. He should be forewarned, though, that he might find the real reason there are no black students on his floor. I encourage his writing, because writing helps the soul. In the future, however, he should not allow popular rhetoric -- for example, that many or all black people live in "Da Boyz" -- to affect his writing. Instead, he should do a bit of research to support his beliefs. I promise he will appear more astute in the end. SHERRI PORTER College '92