An attitude shift needs to occur and “Harvard has to show good faith in the process,” Mawn said.
ROTC may also face resistance from the faculty because of concern that military courses would not meet Harvard’s academic standards. A school that hosts ROTC is obligated to accept into the faculty any military instructors that are chosen by the Pentagon, according to Mawn.
Nathaniel G. Butler ’68, a Navy veteran and board member of the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus, believes that this opposition may simply be an attempt to delay the return of ROTC.
But Mawn does not foresee this as a significant hurdle, in part because many of the dissenting faculty are preparing for retirement, he said. “We can work around that.”
Though the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” passed last November, the measure is unlikely to be implemented until next fall as the Pentagon puts in place a plan to roll out the new policy without detracting from military readiness.
—Staff writer Tara W. Merrigan can be reached at tmerrigan@college.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Zoe A. Y. Weinberg can be reached at zoe.weinberg@college.harvard.edu.