THE RECENT story and editorial about Harvard and the ROTC (“After 4 decades, Harvard opens door to ROTC,’’ Page A1, Dec. 21; “End of ‘don’t ask’ should begin new era for military on campus,’’ Editorial, Dec. 22) make the return of the program seem merely a matter of ironing out some minor logistical details. It may not be so simple.
In the early 1980s, when I was the school’s general counsel, Yale president Bart Giamatti asked me to meet discreetly with Reserve Officers’ Training Corps officials to find out what would be involved if the university wanted the program to return to campus. I met accordingly with Navy ROTC program managers in Pensacola, Fla., who explained the situation to me.
In short, it was not a simple matter of an Ivy League college asking ROTC to return. There were program requirements, which were the original problems to begin with, such as granting ROTC instructors faculty status and titles, providing satisfactory physical facilities, and giving academic credit for ROTC courses. The Yale faculty had balked at these requirements, and hence gave ROTC no choice but to leave campus. The Vietnam War was the backdrop, but not the publicly stated reason.
Moreover, the ROTC officials pointed out that the program was popular, and there was a waiting list of institutions; would it be fair for an Ivy League school to jump ahead of others? And with the military’s interest in greater diversity in the officer corps, wouldn’t state colleges in other sections of the country be of more interest to the military than an “elite’’ Northeastern college?
My discussions took place decades ago, and perhaps the ROTC program requirements are different now. And perhaps the faculty would be less jealous of its titles and privileges. I certainly hope so.
Lindsey Kiang
Chestnut Hill 
