To the Editor:
As a resident of New York City, I know that "Harlem gun battles" don't regularly occur outside of Columbia ("Vox Clamantis in Harlem," The Dartmouth, October 22). However, stating that Harlem is dangerous does not make one racist; it's disappointing that the "racist" card needed to be pulled on an exchange of obviously sarcastic, school-spirit letters. Harlem may not be a war zone, but it's not the safest place in the world. That its residents are largely black is irrelevant; Zachary Pfeiffer was simply making a fairly well known point about the safety of Columbia. Anyone whose had to deal with the school's stringent security rules will know why they exist.
Exaggerating the truth does not a racist make.
