“It was really moving to see all the Dreamers holding hands right as the vote was taking place,” Rodas said. “After we found out that we only had 55 votes, it was devastating... We consoled each other. We are determined to continue on the fight.”

For Nicolas E. Jofre ’13, co-director of Harvard College Act on a DREAM, the Senate’s failure to pass the on the same day that it repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” represented a moral double standard.

“It’s difficult not to perceive the DREAM Act as some sort of down payment for DADT to go through,” Jofre said. “I really think that today was a bittersweet day because it proved that while some wrongs can be redressed... we’re deciding on something that individuals can’t control—sexuality and undocumented status for minors—so for some reason, we decided today that one was okay but the other one wasn’t.”

However, according to retired Captain Paul E. Mawn ’63, chairman of the Advocates for Harvard ROTC, even with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” many obstacles remain to bringing back a ROTC program to Harvard’s campus.

“There’s several issues that need to be addressed by the Pentagon and the politicians,” Mawn said, listing funding and recruitment as examples. “I think this is going to be an issue for many years.”

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.