Joseph P. DiPasquale '00 agreed that the bill was elitist. "It's stupid and pompous," he said. "It reinforces the Harvard sterotype."

Emma C. Cheuse '98 was more critical. She said the return to Latin would be very negative for students at Harvard, especially those who already felt disconnected from what she described as a "dominant culture."

"You have to ask, 'what tradition are they trying to bring back?' What about students that don't speak Latin? They may already feel very disconnected from the University...what does it do to put their degrees in a language they can't even understand?" she said.

Cheuse also raised concerns that this debate may fall along racial lines.

"Did you notice that most of the students of color voted against [the bill?" she asked.

However, most students who were not on the Undergraduate Council dismissed such concerns.

Eugenie A. Lang '00, board member of the Harvard-Radcliffe College Democrats, said, "It's true that this rings of a tradition of a time that had these problems," refering to allegations that using Latin would promote classism, elitism and racism.

"But [Latin] is not specifically classist or racist," she added. "We have lots of traditions at Harvard...this is one of them."

Bradley L. Davis '00, member of the Harvard Republican Club, also supported the bill.

"I don't think it's a legitimate complaint to say that this is classist or elitist. To say that is to assume that this [bill] is directed to exclude...I don't think that's what it proposes," he said, adding, "This is a return to the classic ideal of a liberal arts college."

Other students felt the entire issue was irrelevent to their lives as students.

"The language doesn't change the meaning of the degree," said Geoffrey B. Mainland '00, a writer for Perspective.

Council members who had supported the bill were concerned that it was perceived by some to be exclusionary.

Nelson said "Why [is] English less 'exclusive'? Latin is more international."

"It is important to be aware of the effects this may have on some students," Darling said. "But there is a precedent for Latin. Harvard is not being elitist, it's being proud of its traditions."

Council Secretary Olivia Verma '99-'00 injected humor into the debate.

"Of course having our degrees in Latin is pretentious, but I like being pretentious--it's part of being at Harvard!" she said.