The president defended the practices of Harvard's athletic department, as he has in the past.

"Before we decide that they've done something wrong, we ought to look at the whole track record and give them some credit for all the things they've done right," he said. "They really have been leading the pack and if there are still things to be straightened out, then we ought to try to figure out how to straighten them out."

But Rachel E. Lerner '93, a co-captain of the Radcliffe crew team, disagreed with some of Rudenstine's remarks last night.

"The figures that came out, that the spending on women is one-third of the athletic budget and the spending on men is two-thirds...says that women aren't getting equal opportunity," Lerner said. "I think you can't say that the numbers for women's sports are because of [a lack of women's] interest."

Lerner said she and another member of the Radcliffe crew team have organized a panel discussion on the Title IX law and the Brown ruling for tonight.

Lerner said the discussion, scheduled for 7 p.m. in Sever 113, will feature Katheryn Reith, communications director of the Women's Sports Foundation, Patty Flannery, an attorney who specializes in Title IX cases, women's lacrosse Coach Carole Kleinfelder, and several women athletes from Brown University