It may not have been Bloody Sunday, but Radcliffe College has seen better Easters. In mid-April, The Boston Globe printed a front-page article headlined "Radcliffe's days as a college coming to end."

Startling loyal alumnae and putting administrators on the defensive, the news that Radcliffe's institutional status was in limbo has not yet been resolved.

While sources have told The Crimson that Radcliffe may become a research institute for the study of women, gender and society allied with the University, Radcliffe administrators only acknowledge that the college's Board of Trustees are engaged in a "strategic planning process."

On one level, the recent news of Radcliffe College's possible demise seems to confirm a year of apparent friction between the "partner institutions," from a battle for Byerly Hall to a debate over diplomas (p\lease see related story, page C-7).

But these skirmishes are not part of an all-out war.

In a year where the two colleges have been squabbling over undergraduate affairs, Presidents Linda S. Wilson and Neil L. Rudenstine have been scheming together to create a new jewel in Harvard's crown--a reinvigorated incarnation of the 119-year-old Radcliffe.

But secrecy has shrouded this movement toward compromise, and the confusion has only fueled old tensions about institutional ambiguities and made alumnae uneasy.

Although 1997-98 may go down in history as the beginning of a permanent peace between Harvard and Radcliffe, the past nine months have proved to be the year of public discord.

Border Wars

The two colleges in the Square have had disagreements over undergraduate territory since their agreement of 1977, in which Radcliffe delegated day-to-day responsibilities for its students to Harvard.

But tensions began to escalate last spring-- bubbling over several times this year beforethe pivotal front-page speculation this April.

A year ago last month, Dean of the FacultyJeremy R. Knowles sent a letter to male and femalealumni, raising concerns about the gender gap inthe University's capital campaign and providinginformation about the College's outreach to women.

The 1977 agreement stipulates that Harvard maynot solicit funds from alumnae who graduatedbefore 1976, and some saw Knowles' letter asspecifically targeting loyal pre-1976 'Cliffies,violating the 20-year-old policy.

A group of Radcliffe alumnae--including Ruth B.Helman '43, former president of the RadcliffeCollege Alumnae Association (RCAA), and Amey A.DeFriez '49, former chair of the Radcliffe Boardof Trustees--wrote a letter of protest to Knowles,urging him to "reconsider this divisive strategy."

Goin' Courtin'

In October, Harvard College continued to wooits women, both students and alumnae, sponsoring a25-year anniversary celebration of co-residency inthe Yard, later creating an annual Women'sLeadership Award to honor female students who makesignificant contributions to campus life.