It promises to be a hard, tough fight--a fight whose battleground is the campus, whose weapons are words, and whose soldiers are determined students.

This year will likely see the conclusion of a long-standing debate about whether Harvard should sever all ties with the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).

Some say it should, claiming the military's policy banning homosexuals can't be supported by a university that considers itself "nondiscriminatory."

Others say it shouldn't, insisting that denying the scholarship will only hurt financially strapped students.

Still others cite the University's unfair treatment of the ROTC program as a reason to stick with the status quo.

Homosexuals, cadets, the ROTC program itself--who are the biggest victims? Which will be the casualty of war?

Only the Faculty Council has the power to decide.

Military History

Currently, there is no ROTC program on Harvard's campus. The College awards ROTC scholarships, but forces students to travel to MIT for ROTC classes and drills. That's been the policy since the late '60s--the height of anti-Vietnam War sentiment in the nation--when the program was effectively banned from campus.

The issue resurfaced 20 years later, when the Under-graduate Council voted to work towards bringing ROTC back to campus. That student government vote, in April of 1989, sparked an outpouring of daily heated protests, leading the council to repeal its original request just one week later.

Then, in the spring of 1990, the Faculty Council decided to reconsider its practice of accepting ROTC scholarships. The council's discussion came in the wake of widespread controversy about ROTC, centered around the fate of Harvard student and ROTC candidate David E. Carney '89.

Carney, described as a "model cadet," was denied his ROTC scholarship after telling the military he was gay. Gay and lesbian groups on campus and in the community cried foul.

Faculty Council members decided that if the military's policy towards homosexuals didn't make "sufficient progress" in two years, the organization would consider severing all ties with ROTC.

The two-year deadline is fast approaching, and according to Navy Commander David C. Finch, the requisite progress hasn't been made.

"The military from my perspective hasn't made any change on that issue," says Finch, executive officer at the Navy ROTC unit at Boston University.

If there's no change, then the Faculty Council shouldn't have any trouble reaching a conclusion, says Chad Johnson '90. Johnson is founding the student-and community-based Group United Against ROTC Discrimination (GUARD), in order to "make sure that Harvard is going to follow through with its promise."

GUARD members will keep in contact with members of the Faculty Council and other University officials, in order to ensure that Harvard sticks with its policy of nondiscrimination and severs all ties with ROTC. It's "a matter of principle," Johnson says.

But the issue isn't that simple, according to Captain Michael E. Field, commanding officer of the Navy ROTC unit at MIT. Field says the ROTC program has no control over the anti-gay policy--that's entirely up to the Department of Defense.

Campus activists who decry all military organizations don't take this under consideration, Field says. "ROTC is caught in the middle," he says. "ROTC can't do anything about it. We're just a symbol."

ROTC defenders say innocent students are unfairly caught in the crossfire between the Department of Defense and groups lobbying for gay rights. Well-intentioned students often rely on ROTC scholarships--which pay full tuition--to fund their college educations.

"A vast majority of students in the program could not afford to go to these schools with out the scholarship," Field says. "Need-based aid is one thing, but it still keeps a middle class out of financial range."

Republican Club President Harry J. Wilson '93 agrees. "A lot of people are placing the onus on the gay issue, rather than realizing that it actually revolves around the cadets who need scholarship funds," he says.

Wilson says the University supports many other scholarship funds that aren't open to certain segments of the population--scholarships offered exclusively to women or specific ethnic groups.

But Johnson says the issue is a different kind of discrimination.

"No gay people can be openly so and be in ROTC, so there is 100 percent discrimination against a whole class of people that Harvard has decided to protect," Johnson says.

The ROTC issue, Wilson concedes, has the potential to be highly emotional. And if this year's response is anything like that of 1990, the campus will be a minefield of fiery protests and fierce propaganda.

Republican Club members considered this when they decided to make ROTC a priority on this year's agenda, Wilson says, adding that the organization will lobby hard to keep the status quo.

Wilson says fellow Republican Club members have split opinions about the military's anti-gay stance. But even those who feel a change is needed aren't willing to jeopardize student scholarships, he says.

"I think we can convince enough people of the justness of our cause," Wilson says. "It's certainly an issue we care a great deal about and we'll do everything we can to make it a success."

If the Republican Club makes noise, the Bisexual Gay and Lesbian Students Organization (BGLSA) will counter it, according to Co-Chair Sandra Cavazos '92.

"I do see a strong response coming from the community," Cavazos says. "People within the community obviously are aware of this and are getting ready to act."

And if the open discourse surrounding recent campus political controversies is any indication, other organizations are likely to jump into the fracas.

"I think it will be a heated issue on campus," Johnson says. "I think that's a good thing. I think people are going to open their eyes."