LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Some final words on Crystal and race

To the Editor: In any event, in Crystal's second column, his leitmotif (if he can really be said to have one) seems to be encapsulated in what I would call "The Conflation of the Century," which attempts to fuse Farrakhan's speaking at Howard University with the reaction to O.J.'s acquittal with the criticism directed at Crystal's first column. The linchpin holding these three different and enormously complex events together? Simple, unthinking loyalty to the race, which -- in a very different context -- Harvard professor Cornel West has called "The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning." Here we ought to pause for a moment and savor Crystal's insufferable melange of hauteur and limitless reductionism, a melange which would no doubt be the envy of any presidential candidate. Clearly, this is nonsense. Farrakhan's popularity is one matter, the reaction to O.J.'s acquittal is another matter, and believe it or not, the criticism directed at Crystal's first column is quite another. It is racist, stupid and immature to assert that African Americans criticized Crystal's column for the same reasons that they might (or might not) go to hear Farrakhan, or for the same reasons that they might (or might not) have cheered O.J.'s acquittal. Simply put, Crystal's first column was criticized because his analysis lumbered about like a dying troglodyte, grunting, whimpering and blindly, savagely, striking out in all directions. If, at the first signs of criticism, Crystal is going to run and hide behind the skirts of a mean-spirited reductionism, he's not fit to write about the weather, much less about race. Sprinkled throughout the second column are the words Negro and Caucasian, no doubt used because Crystal believes these are the scientifically endorsed (read: objective) names for the races that he believes exist. Without even touching on the limits and abuses of racial objectivism, let alone on the historical relationships between science and race or language and identity, I will simply say this: Perhaps in Staten Island, you can use the word "Negro" and get away with it. In West Philadelphia, however, I would watch that. Brennan Maier College '97 Maintain educational excellence To the Editor: In response to yesterday's article on tenure ("The road to tenure," DP, 2/26/96), I have one brief but important point which I feel should be made. In this article, College Dean Robert Rescorla comments on the fact that "the decisions made [in the tenure process] are necessary to maintain the University's excellence in education." I think that this is just the point that my fellow Undergraduate Advisory Board members and I have been trying to make, specifically on behalf of Gregg Camfield. While I realize that publication is important, both for professors and for the institutions in which they work, Penn has a unique gift of connection between many of its professors and its student body. Losing professors like Gregg Camfield (and, of course, many others who are being reviewed for tenure) means losing this gift. As a member of the UAB, I know that I do not speak alone. Also in reference to yesterday's paper, I would like to applaud Shawn Walker, not only for her tireless dedication to the English Department and especially to the new Writers House, but also for her courage in rebuffing an unfair editorial. As the President of Quaker Boxing (a student organization which, despite 20 years of active membership, has only recently been recognized by the University), I know how difficult it can be to get things done at Penn, especially for a small student group. I therefore commend Shawn for her efforts in seeing an idea through to fruition and for her bravery in defending it. I guess the question, then, is to write or not to write. I, for one, think the answer depends on the context. After all, how can we punish some for not writing and then berate others for trying to? It just isn't fair. Matthew Robinson English Undergraduate Advisory Board College '96

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