"Rudenstine's proposal does indeed end the use of general fund for ROTC, but the fact that funds are held in a special account does not, in our view, change the conclusion," said Thomas A. Gerace '93, the chair of the Committee to End Discrimination by Harvard. "The fact is, the subsidy of ROTC violates Harvard's non-discriminatory policy."

In a press release yesterday, Gerace's committee reiterated its disapproval of any form of Harvard funding for ROTC.

"We consider it unacceptable, however, for Harvard to continue to write checks to finance a program which discriminates against its own students," the release said.

Several members of the Faculty Council also said the report did not really cut ties to ROTC.

"I think the current policy is incompatible with Harvard's anti-discriminatory policy," said Professor of Government Kenneth A. Shepsle, a member of the Faculty Council.

"I am a little troubled by it," he said. "I felt the [Department of Defense] had not become consistent with Harvard's policy against discrimination by sexual preference."

Other Faculty Council members, though, said the University was taking a compromise stance on a difficult issue.

"It's very satisfying to deliver ... a pontification on the lack of civil rights in the military. On the other hand, there are also people who are going to suffer if there's no ROTC at Harvard," Professor of History James Hankins said. "I think the University is obviously trying to finesse the issue, to some extent, and put ROTC at arm's length and make the arm longer."

Rudenstine said in the report he was not condoning the military's policies on homosexuals.

"We should, however, take another step toward making clear that Harvard's continued involvement with ROTC does not imply university endorsement of the present federal policy toward ROTC service by gay and lesbian students," the report said.

But Gerace said the report's stance is hypocritical.

"The University does not need to imply endorsement of ROTC," he said. "It explicitly gives its support through the payment of the MIT fee."

Rudenstine's Decision

Rudenstine said in the report that he weighed three basic considerations in making his decision on ROTC policy.

First, he wrote, he was concerned that if ROTC ties are severed they could be difficult to re-establish if the military changes its policy, because ROTC programs are being scaled back across the country.