Seton Mischaracterized Council in Letter

To the editors:

In his April 4 letter, Undergraduate Council President Noah Z. Seton '00 tries to deflect criticism of his administration, specifically regarding the recent ROTC bill. But in defending himself, Seton seriously mischaracterizes both the nature of the debate and the content of the final bill.

Although Seton claims that the bill was not meant to be apolitical, supporters of the bill referred several times to efforts to depoliticize the bill. They repeatedly claimed that the bill was about student services, rather than political issues.

Seton further writes that the final version of the bill contains language condemning the military's so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy of excluding homosexuals from serving openly in the military. In fact, the council rejected a strongly worded amendment which would have explicitly condemned the policy. Instead, the final bill merely states that the council does not endorse the military's exclusionary policy. It does not contain a condemnation.

The most disturbing characteristics of the recent council debate, and the current administration, is not that the council is truly depoliticized. Rather, the council tries to disguise conservative political statements in apolitical language. The ROTC bill clearly contradicts Harvard's nondiscrimination policy and is a strong political statement that military recruitment on campus is more important than protection of homosexuals from discrimination at Harvard. DAVID B. ORR '01   April 14, 1999