"It [the proposal] seems to be, to some people, a slap in the face by the university administration at a time when racial tensions seem to be decreasing on college campuses," he says. "It has caused some eyebrows to be raised."

These black student leaders are not alone in condemning the memorial; the student body as a whole appears to be evenly divided on the subject. And one of the major issues that seems to shape student opinion is a belief as to whether the memorial is a tacit endorsement of the Confederacy's war aims.

As could be expected, a majority of students from the South support the memorial--with all arguing that supporting it does not mean an endorsement of slavery.

"Being from the south, I can understand...concerns [but] I don't think you can equate the Civil War solely with being about slavery," says Catherine D. Rucker '99, a native of Virginia. "I don't think you can construe it [a memorial] as being pro-slavery."

This view was not just restricted to Southerners.

"The question during the Civil War was not a question of slavery, it was more a question of individuals fighting for their independence," says Jeffrey B. Sarhrbeck '99, who is from Maine. "Therefore this isn't a question of race it is a question of patriotism."

Other supporters focused on the status of the deceased as Americans.

"It [a memorial] would be an appropriate thing to have, simply because even though at the time they were Confederate soldiers, they were Americans too," says Stephen L. Shackelford '99, a native Mississippian. "We're not memorializing the Confederacy itself, but simply some people that gave their lives in a terrible struggle."

But many other students, including some from the South, agreed with the black student leaders.

"We live in Massachusetts and there's no reason for them to memorialize someone who fought against them," argues Thomas J. Kelleher '99, who comes from Georgia and is a student in Historical Studies B-42: "The American Civil War."

Quite typically of many students, Nancy G. Pile '99, from the border-state of Kentucky, says that she has mixed feelings on the issue.

"I have conflicting views," she says. "I think that Harvard should view its Confederate alumni just as Ulysses S. Grant viewed Robert E. Lee. Grant respected Lee. It's crazy to acknowledge one [side] without the other."

But Pile adds that she feels the soldiers should be memorialized on the condition that members of the black community are comfortable with the plan.

Despite; the apparent division in the student body, a member of the Undergraduate Council may attempt to present the council with a resolution on the matter.

This past Sunday night, Noah R. Freeman '98, vice-chair of the Student Affairs Committee, conducted an informal straw poll in an attempt to elicit the opinions of members of the council on the issue of the memorial to aid him in possibly writing a resolution.