"The way the government is set up, foreign investment profits only the military government and in no way profits the people of Burma," Freeman said.

He also stressed that a fundamental problem with international business was that it places profit before ethics.

Freeman said he believes that by signing with PepsiCo "a large part of the Harvard community will be deeply saddened and extremely angry."

Marco B. Simons'97, a member of the Burma Action Group and chair of the council's Student Affairs Committee, said Harvard should not back a company that directly supports a military regime.

"Entering into a contract with PepsiCo would be against the principles that Harvard ostensibly believes in," said Simons.

Berry said the students' concerns are very important for him because his department is run for students' benefit.

At the same time, Berry is eager to switch to PepsiCo because HDS's relationship with Coca-Cola has been problematic.

"They have taken advantage of their relationship with this University," Berry said.

PepsiCo, according to Berry, has offered HDS a better deal on beverage service than Coca-Cola. But Berry was quick to add that the situation in Burma will play a role in his final decision.

By rejecting PepsiCo's contract, Harvard would become one more example of how the company's involvement in Burma is really affecting more than five percent of their business, according to Billinguess.

Either contract would include beverage dispensers at all undergraduate dining halls, facilities at graduate schools and campus restaurants. Berry estimates HDS pays more than one million dollars per year for beverage service.

Since this issue has arisen, Coca-Cola has made a better offer than their current contract but PepsiCo's contract retains the more competitive edge.

Widespread Concern

Other universities are facing similar decisions as well.

Stanford University is attempting to make a similar choice, as they are deciding whether to accept or reject Taco Bell, a PepsiCo subsidiary.

"In my opinion Burma has the worst human rights record in the world," Simons said, explaining his involvement in the issue.

Freeman said he that it is impossible for a company to be in Burma without directly supporting the illegal government and thus the human rights violations there.

"If you asked a Harvard student on the street to give $10 to have an innocent person thrown in jail and have his face beaten in, no student would do it," Freeman said. "But that is exactly what HDS would have us do if they signed the Pepsi contract.