Vice President and General Council Daniel Steiner '54 yesterday met with four fasters processing Harvard's South Africa investments, and hinted that a Corporation member's recent statement that the University need not consider ethical issues before investing in a company does not reflect University policy.

The hunger strikers yesterday issued a press release stating that Steiner had said he did not believe that Corporation member Hugh Calkins '45's statement "could be taken at face value."

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But Steiner would not confirm this remark yesterday, adding that he did not know if Calkins had actually made such a statement.

The press release also stated that Steiner had emphasized the importance of persuading American corporations to effect positive change in South Africa.

The premise of University policy is that companies who act responsibly in South Africa can contribute constructively," Steiner said in a telephone interview yesterday.

The fasters at yesterday's meeting said they were disappointed with the results of the exchange with Steiner, but added that the weeklong fast has not been a failure.

"Steiner brushed us off," Jamin B. Raskin '83 said, adding, "it is clear that Harvard is not negotiating with any of our demands."

But Beverly S. Bell '86 said yesterday that she would call the fast--which ends tomorrow--a success, because it has increased student awareness on both a national and an international level.