Council Awards Extra Money

The Undergraduate Council late Wednesday night awarded nearly $4,500 to nine of the 19 student organizations that appealed the finance committee's decisions as described in their fall grants package.

Groups which received additional council funding included the Harvard-Radcliffe Forensics Society, the Blood Drive, the Harvard Canadian Club, EuroForum, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, the Russian Club, the Welding Club, the Harvard-Radcliffe Playwrights' Society, and HPAIR.

On Wednesday, The Crimson reported that several student groups had not yet been informed of their grant recommendations or about the appeals process.

"I think that a lot of students found out [about the amendment meeting] on Wednesday and that's why so many people showed up," said Anjalee C. Davis '95, a finance committee member. "There were about 60 people crammed into the council office."

Council President Carey W. Gabay '94 said Tuesday that he expected only about five students to attend.

The hearing lasted five hours and adjourned at 2:30 a.m. yesterday. Finance committee members met privately with student groups to explain the reasons behind their funding decisions.

"We didn't want students to be embarrassed by having to face the whole committee," Nicole M. Anzuoni '95 said.

"We were concerned that some of the things they might have wanted to tell us about their finances were sensitive," she said.

"I think that most groups left here satisfied, or at least understanding of our reasons for allocating what we did," Anzuoni said.

The full council will vote on the package this Sunday. If approved, the package will allocate $36,978.50 to most of the 122 student groups which applied for $106,000 in council grants this semester.

The appeals process is expected to prevent alengthy floor debate Sunday night.

"We tried this because we wanted both studentsand council members to have a chance to discusstheir concerns with finance committee membersbefore people start screaming at each other atSunday's meeting," Gabay said.

Finance committee Chair Jamila A. Braswell '95said the council's limited budget constrained thegrant recommendations, but student representativesunderstood the situation and most accepted theirgrant proposals as "friendly."

"We looked at the needs of the group'sexpenditures and tried to decide whether they wereabove and beyond the scope of what we do,"Braswell said.

Council members and leaders of the PhillipsBrooks House Association met last night to discussfunding for the public service group, which hasoften been dissatisfied with its grant money.

"PBH has historically been unhappy with themoney we've given them, so we held a summit whichwill hopefully lead to a greater mutualunderstanding," said council member Hassen A.Sayeed '96

The appeals process is expected to prevent alengthy floor debate Sunday night.

"We tried this because we wanted both studentsand council members to have a chance to discusstheir concerns with finance committee membersbefore people start screaming at each other atSunday's meeting," Gabay said.

Finance committee Chair Jamila A. Braswell '95said the council's limited budget constrained thegrant recommendations, but student representativesunderstood the situation and most accepted theirgrant proposals as "friendly."

"We looked at the needs of the group'sexpenditures and tried to decide whether they wereabove and beyond the scope of what we do,"Braswell said.

Council members and leaders of the PhillipsBrooks House Association met last night to discussfunding for the public service group, which hasoften been dissatisfied with its grant money.

"PBH has historically been unhappy with themoney we've given them, so we held a summit whichwill hopefully lead to a greater mutualunderstanding," said council member Hassen A.Sayeed '96