1994 was supposed to be the year Harvard resolved its stance towards funding for the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).

But the past year's most significant development was a delay--President Neil L. Rudenstine put off a final decision on the University's ties to ROTC for another year.

For the past four years, committees, debates and delays have marked the Harvard's efforts to formulate a policy that would reconcile the University's own anti discrimination pledge with its desire to allow students to continue participation in the program.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences officially opposes any ties to ROTC because of the military's anti-gay policies. The University currently pays MIT about $120,000 to compensate for the 67 Harvard students who participate in the program there.

According to a report submitted last year, Harvard was supposed to sever ties with ROTC by next fall. But several months after the Faculty voted to cut ROTC funding, Rudenstine made the announcement that would delay a decision for another year.

"We have been pursuing the possibility of a modified arrangement with MIT that would both affirm our policy of nondiscrimination and maintain ROTC as an option for students attending Harvard," said University spokesperson Jonathan New.

Rudenstine's decision sparked little protest from gay rights groups on campus, which mobilized a protest of 300 students, faculty and community members to object to the invitation to Gen. Colin L. Powell to speak at Commencement last year.

"We don't think the delay is justified," said Dennis K. Lin '94, former chair of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Student Association (BGLSA). "On the other hand, we understand how this could be a prolonged process.'

Last month, leaders from BGLSA and the Civil Liberties Union at Harvard (CLUH) presented Rudenstine with a petition signed by 508 undergraduates demanding that the University return their share of tuition money used to support ROTC.

In response, Rudenstine reiterated that he and MIT President Charles Vest were negotiating about Harvard's ties.

"We're really concerned about the recent developments. It's very important that President Rudenstine be up front with us," said John A. Redding '96, gay projects leader for CLUH.

Rudenstine's decision to delay was in line with the report approved by the Faculty in 1993 which allowed the President leeway to postpone the decision if he saw fit.

"We recommend that...1994 be a target or planning date, not a rigid requirement. This flexibility, however, is not meant to be a license for delay," the report said.

In each of the last three years, Harvard has pledged to make a final decision about its ties to ROTC, but each year the issue remains on the agenda.

Four years ago, the Faculty Council criticized the Department of Defense's ban on gays in the military and in its ROTC program.