For Sexual Tolerance

To the Editors of The Crimson:

We return once again this fall to form the Harvard community. Once again, we face choices about ourselves, our relations with others, and our relationship and contribution to this community. One personal contribution I would like to make is a statement on behalf of acceptance--of ourselves and of our neighbors--with respect to sexuality.

I find in myself the ability and interest to relate to both men and women, casually, personally, intimately, sexually. With most people, most of the time, I keep the more intimate side of myself concealed. So it will always be. But one side which I wish to express publicly is my desire for greater public sensitivity to and acceptance of homosexuality--natural attraction and affection for people of one's own sex.

This is not simply an issue of acknowledging the needs of a minority within our community. It is an issue with implications for all of us. In this large and sometimes intimidating environment, we all need some reassurance that we can be ourselves, with our strengths, and (more importantly, and more humanly) our limitations, and still enjoy the fellowship and acceptance of our neighbors.

Acceptance of ourselves and acceptance of our neighbors are inextricably intertwined. By extending a small measure of warmth, support, and acceptance to our neighbors, we may find a little more room to be ourselves. We may find greater openness, greater freedom and greater self-expression--and find ourselves even more enriched by our acceptance than those friends and associates to whom we extend our warmth and support. Peter Patch   Tutor in Economics