ROTC Committee Report Offers Compromise Plan

A special student-faculty committee recommended yesterday that Harvard stop payments to the ROTC program at MIT in protest of the military's ban on gays, University officials said.

But the committee urged the University to continue to accept ROTC scholarship funds, backing away from the complete break threatened by the Faculty Council just two years ago.

The result of nearly nine months of deliberations, the committee report attempts to resolve a three-year-old campus debate over Harvard's ties with ROTC. The report has not yet been publicly released.

The report was delivered to President Neil L. Rudenstine yesterday. Although he has not read the report, he expressed tentative support of the recommendations.

"Certainly, the general outlines as I had them described to me, without having read the report, seemed to me to be very reasonable and a position that I could support," Rudenstine said.

The compromise position taken by the committee is an attempt to pursue the Faculty's strong moral stance against the military's ban on homosexuals without penalizing cadets earning scholarships.

"The report basically urges the University to negotiate its way out of any connection with the fee payments to MIT... and suggests a variety of time frames," said Provost Jerry B. Green.

Rudenstine said the sentiment of the report is that Harvard should stop payments to MIT which "amount to a kind of subsidy that we should not do."

Nevertheless, the University would continue to accept financial aid checks from ROTC--assuming the program continues to allow Harvard undergraduates to participate.

Harvard currently maintains off campus ties with ROTC through MIT and pays roughly $132,000 annually for enrolling about 150 students.

It is unclear whether MIT will continue to accept Harvard students in its ROTC program if Harvard stops paying its share of the costs.

The MIT Planning Office, which administers,cross-registration programs, may prevent Harvardstudents from participating in its ROTC program.

"I don't know where [the committee members]come out on 'what happens if'" no suitable termscan be worked out with MIT, Rudenstine said.

Harvard and MIT will renegotiate their ROTCagreement if the University implements therecommendations, officials said. MIT currentlytreats Harvard ROTC cadets like cross-registeredstudents taking an academic course.

The committee report will now be reviewed bythe Faculty, Rudenstine said. Any action on thecommittee's recommendations is expected to takeeffect in 1994 or 1995.

"It's basically up to [the Faculty],"Rudenstine said. "If they read it and think it's agood report, they may want to support it."

Any action by the Faculty may be rendered mootif Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clintonis elected in November. Clinton has promised tostrike down the military's ban on gays byexecutive order.

In May 1990, the Faculty Council voted to severties with ROTC if it did not end its ban onhomosexuals. It said the policy of excluding gayswas incompatible with the University's policy ofnondiscrimination.

Last January, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R.Knowles suspended the ultimatum and created thespecial student-faculty committee to reexamine theissue.

The committee, chaired by PforzheimerUniversity Professor Sidney Verba '53, wasscheduled to issue a report in May, but requestedan extension until this fall.

Green, who has not seen the final report, wouldnot comment specifically on its conclusions."We're very pleased with all the work that's goneinto this, and it's going in the right direction,"he said.

Confused Cadets

ROTC cadets interviewed yesterday expressedconfusion about the committee's recommendations.

Some cadets said they were unaware of Harvard'spayments. They said they were open to alternativeROTC schemes as long as Harvard continues toaccept their scholarship checks.

Javier Romero '95, a vice-chair of Bisexual,Gay and Lesbian Students Association, said lastnight that the committee "did the right thing,"

"The one thing that makes me wonder about ROTCscholarships is that they are discriminatoryagainst an oppressed minority," he said. "Notsending MIT money is a necessary step."

Gady A. Epstein contributed to the reportingof this article.

The MIT Planning Office, which administers,cross-registration programs, may prevent Harvardstudents from participating in its ROTC program.

"I don't know where [the committee members]come out on 'what happens if'" no suitable termscan be worked out with MIT, Rudenstine said.

Harvard and MIT will renegotiate their ROTCagreement if the University implements therecommendations, officials said. MIT currentlytreats Harvard ROTC cadets like cross-registeredstudents taking an academic course.

The committee report will now be reviewed bythe Faculty, Rudenstine said. Any action on thecommittee's recommendations is expected to takeeffect in 1994 or 1995.

"It's basically up to [the Faculty],"Rudenstine said. "If they read it and think it's agood report, they may want to support it."

Any action by the Faculty may be rendered mootif Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clintonis elected in November. Clinton has promised tostrike down the military's ban on gays byexecutive order.

In May 1990, the Faculty Council voted to severties with ROTC if it did not end its ban onhomosexuals. It said the policy of excluding gayswas incompatible with the University's policy ofnondiscrimination.

Last January, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R.Knowles suspended the ultimatum and created thespecial student-faculty committee to reexamine theissue.

The committee, chaired by PforzheimerUniversity Professor Sidney Verba '53, wasscheduled to issue a report in May, but requestedan extension until this fall.

Green, who has not seen the final report, wouldnot comment specifically on its conclusions."We're very pleased with all the work that's goneinto this, and it's going in the right direction,"he said.

Confused Cadets

ROTC cadets interviewed yesterday expressedconfusion about the committee's recommendations.

Some cadets said they were unaware of Harvard'spayments. They said they were open to alternativeROTC schemes as long as Harvard continues toaccept their scholarship checks.

Javier Romero '95, a vice-chair of Bisexual,Gay and Lesbian Students Association, said lastnight that the committee "did the right thing,"

"The one thing that makes me wonder about ROTCscholarships is that they are discriminatoryagainst an oppressed minority," he said. "Notsending MIT money is a necessary step."

Gady A. Epstein contributed to the reportingof this article.