Early this week, the Cuban-American Undergraduate Student Association (CAUSA) launched a postering campaign to protest the government's forceful removal of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez from the home of his Miami relatives. Elian was reunited with his father later that day in Washington.

But members of CAUSA say their posters were ripped down within 30 minutes of being posted.

CAUSA member Anne B. Lord '01 said she was not surprised.

"I think most people in this country feel [Elian] should go back [to Cuba]," Lord said.

And although CAUSA Co-President Michael A. Pineiro '02 said the group officially supports keeping Elian in the United States, he acknowledged that the issue has created dissention among the group.

On Tuesday afternoon, CAUSA member Eddy J. Dominguez '01 sent an e-mail message to the group's mailing list criticizing CAUSA's protests.

"I don't understand what you guys are protesting. Protests aren't going to change what happened, the harm has already been done," Dominguez wrote. "I would be against postering and protesting against the government's actions because the Cuban relatives in Miami are as much at fault as the INS."

Glenn Kinen '01 said that the national media has done Cuban-Americans a disservice by portraying them all as united in support of Elian's Miami relatives.