Word: kovacevich
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...true that opinions like the ones Kovacevich mentions ("As a member of X ethnic group, I think..."), when accepted dogmatically by professors and fellow students, halt conversation to the point of complete silence. But there is no reason why it should be this way: if they are nothing more than prejudices, they should collapse, or at least be uncovered, when rigorously tackled. To criticize professors of not tackling them is one thing; to criticize students for voicing such opinions is unacceptable censorship...
Despite what Kovacevich (or John Stuart Mill, for that matter) may believe, cultural background unavoidably skews the development of our mind. But ideally, there should be no trade-off between cultural background and independent thinking. The ideas expressed in the editorial, properly distorted, have been used to silence outside criticism and impose one culture's norms on others under the guise of universal logic. Knowing that this statement will annoy Kovacevich, I must say that, as an international student, I have often felt this pressure...
...Adam Kovacevich's column, "From Doggishness to Discomfort" (Opinion, March 1) is a very narrowminded and ill-supported view of academic life at Harvard. To assume that the "scientists in Mendelssohn's course and Jews in Harris' course" have "frittered away a valuable opportunity to explore unfamiliar intellectual realms" is to assume that the average Harvard student is incapable of being driven to a higher level of understanding through already-familiar realms of academia. A much more attractive and positive assumption would require us to abandon the view that Harvard students always look for the easy way out and sometimes...
...same for "Jews." I am insulted by Kovacevich's assumption that I am taking this course merely to learn my "ancestral history." "Jews" is not a class that explains what it means to be Jewish but rather why Jewish life has manifested itself as it has in modern life.The class gives me the chance to explore a culture that I am a part of, but have never had the chance to appreciate in terms of its rich intellectual history...
...share Kovacevich's opinion that we should explore areas of study that will enhance our minds as opposed to forcing them into stagnation. But I am well aware that I will reap a much greater personal benefit from furthering my musical knowledge and advancing my understanding of a culture to which I have...