Rudenstine said he will attend a dinner sponsored by gay and lesbian alumni on Thursday evening, immediately following Commencement. And he said Harvard should be a place for "embracing in the community people of all kinds."

The president, who later sat on the edge of the Sanders Theatre stage greeting alumni as they filed out of the hall, said he had expected the tough questioning.

"Having been here in 1968 [and] knowing the feelings on the issue...I would have been surprised if there hadn't been any questions," said Rudenstine, who was an assistant professor of English at Harvard until 1968, when he left for Princeton University.

Class of 1968 Protest

Dion said he and other representatives of the Class of 1968 who will be sitting on the stage for the Commencement ceremony will rise during the Powell speech.

"We will be physically embodying our love and support for gayness," he said.

A flyer posted in the Yard yesterday urged faculty to stand and turn their backs on Powell when he receives his honorary degree from Rudenstine Thursday morning.

"Our backs turned...will send an unequivocal message: Harvard's faculty and students will not tolerate intolerance," said the flyer, which was printed on stationary from the Graduate School of Design but was not signed.

Questions About Labor Problems

Also during the addresses to alumni yesterday, Ricky Liberman '68 asked Rudenstine and Wilson about Harvard's recent "labor difficulties."

In response, Rudenstine defended the nearly year-long negotiations, completed in January, to draw up a new contract with the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers.

Wendy M. Seltzer contributed to the reporting of this article.