It didn't surprise me to hear that the person behind the ad was former Council Chair Kenneth E. Lee '89, according to Battatt.

As I have pointed out in this column before, it was Lee who attempted to justify his initial support for ROTC by claiming that he "wasn't aware" of the military's policy of excluding gays and lesbians. Of course, Lee presided over a council meeting at which the issue was debated in no uncertain terms. Yet he still voted in favor of ROTC. In true Reaganesque fashion, we are left with two possible explanations: Either Lee conducted the meeting while in a coma, or he lied about his ignorance.

(The similarity to former president Reagan's amnesia defense is disturbing. After The Independent quoted Lee as saying he "wasn't aware," I asked him how he expected anyone to believe him. He insisted that the heated discussion of ROTC's anti-gay discrimination never penetrated his skull during the council debate. Just as with Reagan, I don't know which would be worse: if he was lying or telling the truth.)

I bring up this incident not to drag Ken Lee's name through the mud, but to illustrate his evident tendency to play fast and loose with the truth.

Actually, I do want to drag his name through the mud. Harvard students should not have to take the statements of their student leaders with a pillar of salt. Lee and any other council members who approved of the misleading statements in their ad have abused the confidence invested in them by the students they represent. A bit of righteous indignation is perfectly appropriate here.

Battatt suggested that the council's publicity should be "honest with the student body about the things we do well and the things we don't do well."

Good idea.