Secondly, the report said, he believed that a decision to sever ties with ROTC would have no effect on the military's policies regarding homosexuals in the military.

Finally, he wrote, he considered the University's non-discrimination policy, and whether it mandated cutting all ties to ROTC.

"I recognize that the course of action I have outlined will not be satisfactory to many members of our community," Rudenstine said in the report. "My own judgment is that the course of action described above offers the best alternative under existing circumstances, even though it does not claim to resolve the tension between the different values at stake."

Gerace said he disagreed with Rudenstine's assessment that a decision to sever ties to ROTC would have no effect on the military's policy.

"Harvard is a leader among universities," Gerace said. "Other presidents look to ours for leadership. Other faculties look to ours for moral direction. Like it or not, Harvard policies, including the policy on ROTC, extend well beyond Cambridge."

Rudenstine also emphasized the benefits of ROTC in his report, as part of the justification for continued funding.

He included its educational value for students and the benefit to the nation of having graduates of top schools in the military.

The report also said that Rudenstine was concerned with allowing all students admitted to be able to attend Harvard. Severing ties could keep some students on ROTC scholarships from attending, the report said.

According to the report, the cost for ROTC is between $30,000 and $35,000 per class, making the total pledged alumni contribution in the neighborhood of half a million dollars over four years.

Student Groups

Campus groups which have been protesting the University's ROTC policy expressed differing opinions over the report.

"I feel a certain disappointment after reading the report," said Royce C. Lin '96, the co-chair of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Students Association (BGLSA). "Because I feel by continuing to fund an organization which continues to discriminate against Harvard's own students, it's an unjustified break of principle."

"Regardless of the means through which funds flow, Harvard is still involved with an organization which discriminates," he said. "Until Harvard can say with a clear conscience that it has nothing to do with RCTC, enough has not been done."

"I think it still conflicts with Harvard's non-discriminatory policy because Harvard is still 'entangled' with ROTC," Lin said.

Moon Duchin '97, the BGLSA's other co-chair, said she thought it was a good short-term solution.