The establishment of a minority student center would hurt race relations on campus, Provost Jerry R. Green said in an interview yesterday.

But Green said gay and lesbian students' request for a center may have more merit. Green said such a center could alleviate the safety concerns of some gay and lesbian students.

Green said that while he had not met with minority student groups yet about establishing a center, he was not enthusiastic about the idea.

"In general I would be against centers based on who you are or what color your skin is. I just find that they do tend to pull the community apart," he said.

Green said that he thought that the arguments presented by the Coalition for Diversity, which decided to focus on obtaining a student center shortly before spring break, were not as compelling as those advanced by a group of gay and lesbian student group leaders in a meeting in mid-March.

The University-wide gay and lesbian group, the Leadership Council of Harvard, announced in February that it would press Harvard to establish gay and lesbian student centers, academic courses and a visiting professorship.

"The main argument that they presented was that they felt threatened," Green said. "Some of the people there have been subjected to harassment and they needed what they described as a 'safe place.' We haven't come to any conclusion on this yet, but I think this is a bit different from some other groups that simply have a common background. That's a less compelling argument than the need for safety."

Green stressed, however, that he was making no promises about future student centers.

"Personally I don't think that student centers are [feasible] in a time when we can build very, very few buildings," he said. "I'm not sure we'll actually do anything."

Green said that neither the Coalition for Diversity nor the Leadership Council had scheduled any future meetings with him.

Back Seat

Several Leadership Council members said they will continue to press for a gay and lesbian student center although such long range plans have currently taken a back seat since the announcement that Chair of the Joint Chiefs Colin L. Powell, who opposes ending the military ban on gays and lesbians, would be this year's Commencement speaker.

The students said that the Powell invitation was the primary topic of discussion at a public meeting of the Leadership Council Wednesday night, which more than 50 people attended.

But council members said the student center will not be forgotten. "The whole situation illustrates the need for a gay and lesbian something...possibly someone in the administration whose job it is to look after gay and lesbian issues," said William Meikrantz, a student at the Public School of Health.

Design School student Kristin E. Hill said that she thought the Powell speech might provide the impetus for a large-scale push to obtain such measures as a center.

"I think what we would like to do is to have the issue be a wedge that would lead to a dialogue with the University," Hill said