Leaders of the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) criticized the University's investment policies in a meeting last night after a revealing discovery: Harvard owns stock in Playboy Enterprises.

"If Harvard knowingly sanctioned a purchase of a stock whose sole profit making function is pornography, we certainly don't agree with that," said Melissa J. Gambol '99, treasurer of RUS and a spokesperson for the RUS board.

"Being an educational institution, they must scrutinize what they're investing in and must avoid things that could be so controversial for such a large portion of the student body."

The University owns 22,700 shares of class A stock in Playboy Enterprises, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 30 and obtained by The Crimson.

At yesterday's closing price of $14.125, this holding is valued at about $320,600, far less than 1 percent of Harvard's $11 billion endowment.

In addition to its well known magazine, which contains a new "centerfold" each month of a naked woman, Playboy Enterprises also runs Playboy TV, markets a line of sex products and publishes material in five languages.

SEC documents also show that Harvard owns "short" another 21,300 shares of Playboy Enterprises class B stock.

Investors purchase stocks "short" when they believe the stock price is about to fall.

Harvard must disclose all its domestic stocks in a 13F form filed quarterly with the SEC.

The document lists more than 2,000 separate holdings with a total market value of about $5 billion.

Prominent female leaders on campus greeted news of the investment with surprise and disappointment.

"I am personally disappointed to find out that Harvard invests in Playboy," said Lamelle D. Rawlins '99, president of the Undergraduate Council. "It certainly casts a whole new light on Harvard's interest in Playboy's 'Women of the Ivy League' issue."

Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 said the University is receptive to criticisms about its investments and must weigh this critical input in deciding where to invest.

"One wants to be very measured in restraining [a certain investment] but also prepared to take head on questions about the propriety of an investment," he said.

Fineberg warned, however, that restrictions on where Harvard can invest must be made carefully because they can hurt the bottom line.