Letters to the Editor

Legacies didn't get a free pass to Yale

Dear Editor:

I have spent two years at this institution being told that legacies are admitted to Yale because of their families and that there are more deserving students that should be admitted instead of the legacies who are here. I am sick of this contention, as well as the misconception that the admissions process is far different for legacies than for other students who apply to Yale. ["True blue-bloods shouldn't get royal treatment," YH 1/19/01]

Like everyone else here, I excelled in high school, participating in extracurricular activities, getting above-average grades, and doing well on standardized tests. However, unlike most of Yale's student body, both of my parents went to Yale. Does this mean that I don't belong here, or that I didn't work extremely hard throughout high school to get here? I don't think so. In fact, in a way, I think it made me work harder, as I was expected from day one to excel in everything so that my parents would be able to visit Yale again, and so I could have a college experience similar to theirs.

After I was accepted to Yale, my father informed me of the admissions policy for legacies as he understood it. Being a legacy guaranteed that your application would be read by the entire group of people who decide whether or not you should be accepted, not just the regional director of your area—that's all. This is done so that the admissions office has a ready explanation for any furious alums as to why their son or daughter did not get accepted.

Yes, there may be a greater percentage of legacies in the accepted class than of any minority group, but perhaps some of the legacies are minorities or come from regions that are not well represented at Yale. There could also have been a large number of legacy applicants for whom Yale was their top choice, or maybe they were exceptional football players or actors or attractive candidates in some other way. There are so many different reasons that a person could be either accepted or denied admission to Yale that I believe it is unfair to continue harping on the supposed advantage given to legacy students. I have yet to meet a person at Yale who I believe doesn't deserve to be here, especially among the legacies that I know. We all worked hard to get here, and not one of us was guaranteed a spot when we applied. Just because you know someone is a legacy does not mean you know why he or she was accepted. All being a legacy means is that you either had smart or extremely athletic parents and that you are just as smart or as athletic as they were, nothing more.

by Erica Westerman. JE '03

Attack on small publications mean-spirited

Dear Editor:

When I read David Wertime's recent `Fired Up' column ["Why Yale publications suck," YH 1/19/01], I was shocked. The article is little more than a list of which campus publications are presumably only in existence because their editors want to look good to the outside world. "The editors of most student publications," he wrote, "treat their work with all the love and timely attention that they lend to their ForMAC papers."

I understand what Wertime's point was—that there are too many publications that fill niche markets. But the quality of the publications shouldn't have anything to do with this point. Wertime has no reason to list publication after publication that he thinks is worthless. It is needlessly mean-spirited.

I am not defending any of the publications he so rudely lambasted. I write for the Herald. But if a New York Times writer wrote in a column, "Gee, the Post and Newsday really suck," it would never get in the paper, whether or not it reflected the opinions of the editorial board. Printing such a self-promoting tirade is a breach of journalistic integrity and dignity. Both Wertime and the Herald's editors need to sit down and think why they chose to include this all-out attack in their newspaper.

"Journalism's an ugly business," Wertime writes. Yes—because of articles like his.

Chaim Bloom, SM '04

The Yale Herald welcomes reader feedback on all articles published. Send Letters to the Editor of up to 500 words to opinion@yaleherald.com.

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