Summers should stop apologizing

WHY DID the presidents of MIT, Princeton, and Stanford -- without having heard his remarks -- criticize Harvard's president, Lawrence Summers, for proposing to study factors that might explain variations in achievement in science and engineering between men and women (Page A1, Feb. 12?)

Had they waited for his transcript, they would have learned that Summers did not propose to ''rejuvenate old myths and reinforce negative stereotypes and biases." He proposed that the relative abilities of men and women in science and engineering should be the subject of rigorous research. Such research, carried to conclusion, would not contribute to myths or stereotypes but either disprove them decisively or establish them as proven facts.

There are many physiological differences in the bodies of men and women with profound significance in performance and health. Is it so unthinkable that there might also be differences in their brains? Summers asked, in effect, why not find out?

In violation of the principle of free inquiry, the three presidents in effect declared this area of study forbidden knowledge. They are the ones who should apologize for their inability to resist parading their fidelity to political correctness. Summers should stop apologizing and declare the right of universities to pursue the truth on any subject, wherever it may lead.

JOHN SILBER
President emeritus
Boston University