Council Considers Raising Taxes

The Undergraduate Council may raise your taxes by 50 percent.

This Sunday, the council will vote on three changes to its constitution and by-laws--including a $10 hike in your $20 term bill fee-that could dramatically expand its role on campus.

Or waste student money and time.

Is the increase warranted?

Many council members view a raise in the term-bill fee as necessary for expanding the council's role. They say the council has worked well this year but needs more money to maintain the same level of services.

"We won't be able to do the same things next year that we were able to do this year," says Vice President Joshua D. Liston '95. "Unless we have the term-bill increase."

Opponents of the increase say the council has not shown it can consistently and successfully spend the money it already has.

Opponents add that there are plenty of other ways--including internal restructuring--that would enable the council to find extra dollars.

The Proposal

The most significant of the three changes to be considered this week end would raise the fee on student term-bills from $20 to $30, swelling the council's annual budget from $120,000 to approximately $180,000. If enacted, this change would also require the approval of the Faculty Council.

The proposal could prove controversial alone, but it has been carefully packaged as part of a larger effort to restructure the way the council bud gets its money.

If the budget package passes this Sunday, thecouncil will more than double the amount it spendson student affairs and campus life projects from$30,000 to $72,000. The package would boost thefraction of the budget devoted to student servicesfrom 25 to 40 percent (see graphic, thispage).

The package would also drop the portion of thebudget earmarked for grants from 60 to 50 percent.Despite the percentage decrease, the larger budgetwould increase the council's grants spending byapproximately $18,000 annually.

The modest increase in funding for grants wouldallow the council more leeway in dispensing money,says Jay J. Kim '95, chair of the financecommittee and a Crimson editor.

Last semester, the council budgeted $41,000 forgrants. But Kim says the finance committeereceived between $120,000 and $150,000 inrequests.

"If the finance committee had more money, we'dbe able to be a little more liberal and a littlemore generous," Kim says.

Secretary Brandon C. Gregoire '95 says manyprojects of redeeming value can't be funded underthe current budget.

"A lot of groups asking for [grants] have to bedenied," Gregoire says. "We can't meet the need."

Advocates of the hike say that under thepackage, the biggest increase would come in themoney provided for student services.

"More, bigger, and more big events," Listonsays when asked about what the bill hike wouldmean for Harvard.

John Mann '92-'94, co-chair of the campus lifecommittee, says the council could sponsor twice asmany big-name comedy and musical concerts as itdid this year if the increase is passed.

This spring, the council will sponsor a concertby the council will sponsor a concert by thealternative band They Might Be Giants, aperformance by Saturday Night Live comedianDavid Spade and Yardfest, an event featuringcarnival games and musicians. The total amountallocated for these three events was $40,000.

"We could have two [concerts of the magnitudeof] They Might Be Giants, we could have two[comedians of the magnitude of] David Spade, aspeaker series, an annual Yardfest" and more, Mannsays.

Council members say other popular but expensiveideas could become reality with an increasedbudget: a $14,000 interhouse facebook, cabletelevision in all the houses and a series ofspeakers on issues relevant to student life.

"We could do a lot of things we can't do rightnow," says President Carey W. Gabay '94. "There'sno way we can fund [a facebook or cable TV] now."

In addition to big events, the council would beable to fund an expanded array of smallerprojects, Liston says.

And Gabay says bi-weekly comedy concerts,frequent small musical performances and moreshuttle buses could fit into an increased budget.

In addition, advocates of the proposal say abigger budget could make these events cheaper forstudents.

"It's not just, 'oh, let's have more money toplay with," Liston says. "We're not out to raisemoney. We're out to do things. And we've reached alimit on the things we can do."

Mann agrees. He says the recent revitalizationof the council should be seen as an opportunity tohelp more students.

"[A fee hike] has been bounced around foryears, but there's never been any justificationfor it before now," Mann says. "If it wasn't thisyear, even I wouldn't vote for it."

Council members say the proposal is more thanjust an attempt to secure more student servicesand a bigger campus presence. It's also necessary,they say, to keep up with inflation.

The last time the Faculty Council allowed theUndergraduate Council to raise the term-bill feewas in 1988. Gabay says that if the term-bill feehad been adjusted each year since then to keeppace with inflation, today it would stand at $28.

Finally, Mann says that even with a $30term-bill fee, the share Harvard students pay totheir government would still be the lowest amongboth Ivy League and Boston-area colleges.

Most critics of the proposed term-billincrease say the council is not adequatelyspending the money it already has.

"Even with a $20 fee this year, and even with[16 percent] of people we have now not paying thisfee, the council still has a large roll-over atthe end of every year," says Rene Reyes '95, thecouncil's former treasurer.

"Until we organize ourselves to the level wherewe're maximizing our use of the funds, I'd [opposethe increase]," Reyes says.

Reyes' criticism stems from the council'shistory of allowing huge sums of money to remainunspent at the end of each academic year. At theend of 1991-92, more than $40,000 was left fromthe budget, says Gabay, a former counciltreasurer.

And nearly $25,000 remained unspent after1992-93, according to Reyes.

A large part of the extra money consists ofgrants that are allocated to but not collected byvarious student groups.

Reyes, who chaired the finance committee lastspring, estimates that approximately $15,000 oflast year's roll-over was in the form ofuncollected grants.

But the other $10,000--and a sizable portion ofevery year's roll-over--is not spent because of"events that just don't come off", Reyes says.

Liston, however, rejects this criticism. Hecalls last year's $25,000 roll-over "an anomaly."And he says the roll-over projected for 1993-94,which Gabay estimates to be about $6,000, is amore relevant figure in considering a fee hike.

"We're not going to have significant rollover,and that's with spending $25,000 [from last year'sroll-over] that we won't have next year," Listonsays.

Liston says, for example, that the councilwould not have had money for Yardfest if it hadn'tbeen for the extra $25,000 left over from 1992-93.

In other words, the council won't vices, letalone expand, without an increase in theterm-bill, Liston says.

"The expectation is that the exact same thingsare going to happen next year, but we won't havethe money", Liston says.

Of course, Liston and other supporters of theproposal are making a big assumption--that thisspring's council-backed events will prove moresuccessful than past efforts. Critics say thatassumption ignores the council's history ofproducing big-time flops.

Former council member Hillary K. Anger '93-'94says the council should wait to see it events likeYardfest succeed before committing itself tosponsor more of them.

"Never in the U.C.'s history" has an event ofthe magnitude of Yardfest succeeded, says Anger,who is co-chair of the Constitution Committee. Thecommittee is a group outside the council workingon a package of structural reforms for the body.

"It's not the I'm against [increased money forthe council]," Anger says. "It's an issue thatwould be better answered after [Yardfest]. I feelwe should see what happens before we have thenerve to ask for so much more money."

And Reyes says he doubts that the council iscapable of providing several big events eachsemester.

"In the fall term, we did pass a lot of thingsthat didn't come off," Reyes says. "It wasn't thatwe were saving money for big projects in thespring. The fact of the matter is that projectsfell through."

Gabay disputes that. He notes that 1,200students attended a comedy performance by AdamSandler of Saturday Night Livelast fall.That event cost the council $10,000.

Mann also says that by improving itsinstitutional memory, the council will learn fromthe mistakes of the past.

Mann, who was instrumental in signing TheyMight Be Giants, says he plans to write aninstruction manual for future councils. He saysthe book will explicitly outline how to go aboutbringing a band to campus.

As they consider a hike in the term-billfee, council members are also moving to make itmore difficult for students to waive the $20annual charge.

Presently, students can check a box on theterm-bill to recover $16.67 of the $20. Studentscan get the remaining $3.33 by writing the dean ofstudents.

But council members are pushing a measure thatwould eliminate the check box option. Instead, allstudents wanting a refund would have to write thedean of students, Liston says.

While the measure was approved by the councillast spring, the change has not yet beenconsidered by the Faculty Council. Liston says theFaculty Council may review the proposal thisspring.

But some members say the Undergraduate Councilshould not raise the term-bill fee and eliminatethe check box option at the same time.

"The students are having more faith in theU.C., [believing] that we're starting to work forthem," says Melissa Garza '94, a member of thecouncil's re-evaluation committee. "I think it'sunfair to ask 84 percent of the students tosubsidize those who withhold the money. We shouldwork to get all of the students paying the $20before we raise the term bill."

But most council officers say any perceivedconnection between the fee hike and the newlimitations on fee waivers is purely coincidental.

"It may appear as though we're trying tohoodwink people, but that's not necessarily thecase," Gregoire says.

And Liston says allowing students to recovertheir fee with just the stroke of a pen on theirterm-bills is unfair.

"Why should a student get to enjoy Yardfest andall the benefits the U.C. has provided for themfor free?" Liston asks.

But Anger says fairness has nothing to do withit. She suggests the council is simply afraid thatmore students will take back their money.

"[The more difficult process] doesn't speak ofincreased confidence in the council," she says.

"This kind of thing has been discussed foryears," Anger adds. "Whenever the council talkedabout making it harder for people [to waive thefee], it's because they're afraid people will bededucting it."

Anticipating such criticism, Gabay and Mann,two key supporters of the elimination of the checkbox option, say they might back a compromise. Theymight be willing to wait a year before enactingthe term-bill increase, they say.

But it's clear most of the council leadershipwants more money now.

"I would like to see us wait," Gabay says, "butwe're way under what other student governments getnow."

Council members will debate the issueSunday, but students themselves may end updeciding whether the term-bill fee will go up.

Most council members interviewed by The Crimsonsay they support the term-bill increase. And ifthe package passes this Sunday, the increase willbe taken up in the Faculty Council, perhaps asearly as April 12, Liston says.

Gabay speculates that the Faculty Council willput the issue to a student referendum beforemaking a decision.

"I think it's going to rest ultimately with thestudents," Gabay says. "And if they don't want it,I don't want it."

Gabay, however, says that when he presents thepros and cons of the issue, his Quincy Houseconstituents are inclined to support it.

Former council member Niko Canner '94 says healso wants to see a student referendum.

"It seems like it's the students who are payingthe extra $10 who should decide whether it goesthrough," says Canner, who co-chairs theConstitution Committee with Anger.

Echoing Anger, Canner advises patience forcouncil members anxious to impose a term-billincrease on a potentially unreceptive studentbody.

"Perhaps if the U.C. waited and could present amore convincing resume of successful big events,"Canner says, "the student body would be morewilling."RENE REYES '95MELISSA GARZA '94Pictured at right: U.C. Vice presidentJOSHUA D. LISTON '95. At top of page, PresidentCAREY W. GABAY '94Breakdown of the fee increase Breakdownof approximate Undergraduate Council expenditurebefore and after the proposed 50% increase in feesand restructuring of the Council's budget (withpercent of total budget).

If the budget package passes this Sunday, thecouncil will more than double the amount it spendson student affairs and campus life projects from$30,000 to $72,000. The package would boost thefraction of the budget devoted to student servicesfrom 25 to 40 percent (see graphic, thispage).

The package would also drop the portion of thebudget earmarked for grants from 60 to 50 percent.Despite the percentage decrease, the larger budgetwould increase the council's grants spending byapproximately $18,000 annually.

The modest increase in funding for grants wouldallow the council more leeway in dispensing money,says Jay J. Kim '95, chair of the financecommittee and a Crimson editor.

Last semester, the council budgeted $41,000 forgrants. But Kim says the finance committeereceived between $120,000 and $150,000 inrequests.

"If the finance committee had more money, we'dbe able to be a little more liberal and a littlemore generous," Kim says.

Secretary Brandon C. Gregoire '95 says manyprojects of redeeming value can't be funded underthe current budget.

"A lot of groups asking for [grants] have to bedenied," Gregoire says. "We can't meet the need."

Advocates of the hike say that under thepackage, the biggest increase would come in themoney provided for student services.

"More, bigger, and more big events," Listonsays when asked about what the bill hike wouldmean for Harvard.

John Mann '92-'94, co-chair of the campus lifecommittee, says the council could sponsor twice asmany big-name comedy and musical concerts as itdid this year if the increase is passed.

This spring, the council will sponsor a concertby the council will sponsor a concert by thealternative band They Might Be Giants, aperformance by Saturday Night Live comedianDavid Spade and Yardfest, an event featuringcarnival games and musicians. The total amountallocated for these three events was $40,000.

"We could have two [concerts of the magnitudeof] They Might Be Giants, we could have two[comedians of the magnitude of] David Spade, aspeaker series, an annual Yardfest" and more, Mannsays.

Council members say other popular but expensiveideas could become reality with an increasedbudget: a $14,000 interhouse facebook, cabletelevision in all the houses and a series ofspeakers on issues relevant to student life.

"We could do a lot of things we can't do rightnow," says President Carey W. Gabay '94. "There'sno way we can fund [a facebook or cable TV] now."

In addition to big events, the council would beable to fund an expanded array of smallerprojects, Liston says.

And Gabay says bi-weekly comedy concerts,frequent small musical performances and moreshuttle buses could fit into an increased budget.

In addition, advocates of the proposal say abigger budget could make these events cheaper forstudents.

"It's not just, 'oh, let's have more money toplay with," Liston says. "We're not out to raisemoney. We're out to do things. And we've reached alimit on the things we can do."

Mann agrees. He says the recent revitalizationof the council should be seen as an opportunity tohelp more students.

"[A fee hike] has been bounced around foryears, but there's never been any justificationfor it before now," Mann says. "If it wasn't thisyear, even I wouldn't vote for it."

Council members say the proposal is more thanjust an attempt to secure more student servicesand a bigger campus presence. It's also necessary,they say, to keep up with inflation.

The last time the Faculty Council allowed theUndergraduate Council to raise the term-bill feewas in 1988. Gabay says that if the term-bill feehad been adjusted each year since then to keeppace with inflation, today it would stand at $28.

Finally, Mann says that even with a $30term-bill fee, the share Harvard students pay totheir government would still be the lowest amongboth Ivy League and Boston-area colleges.

Most critics of the proposed term-billincrease say the council is not adequatelyspending the money it already has.

"Even with a $20 fee this year, and even with[16 percent] of people we have now not paying thisfee, the council still has a large roll-over atthe end of every year," says Rene Reyes '95, thecouncil's former treasurer.

"Until we organize ourselves to the level wherewe're maximizing our use of the funds, I'd [opposethe increase]," Reyes says.

Reyes' criticism stems from the council'shistory of allowing huge sums of money to remainunspent at the end of each academic year. At theend of 1991-92, more than $40,000 was left fromthe budget, says Gabay, a former counciltreasurer.

And nearly $25,000 remained unspent after1992-93, according to Reyes.

A large part of the extra money consists ofgrants that are allocated to but not collected byvarious student groups.

Reyes, who chaired the finance committee lastspring, estimates that approximately $15,000 oflast year's roll-over was in the form ofuncollected grants.

But the other $10,000--and a sizable portion ofevery year's roll-over--is not spent because of"events that just don't come off", Reyes says.

Liston, however, rejects this criticism. Hecalls last year's $25,000 roll-over "an anomaly."And he says the roll-over projected for 1993-94,which Gabay estimates to be about $6,000, is amore relevant figure in considering a fee hike.

"We're not going to have significant rollover,and that's with spending $25,000 [from last year'sroll-over] that we won't have next year," Listonsays.

Liston says, for example, that the councilwould not have had money for Yardfest if it hadn'tbeen for the extra $25,000 left over from 1992-93.

In other words, the council won't vices, letalone expand, without an increase in theterm-bill, Liston says.

"The expectation is that the exact same thingsare going to happen next year, but we won't havethe money", Liston says.

Of course, Liston and other supporters of theproposal are making a big assumption--that thisspring's council-backed events will prove moresuccessful than past efforts. Critics say thatassumption ignores the council's history ofproducing big-time flops.

Former council member Hillary K. Anger '93-'94says the council should wait to see it events likeYardfest succeed before committing itself tosponsor more of them.

"Never in the U.C.'s history" has an event ofthe magnitude of Yardfest succeeded, says Anger,who is co-chair of the Constitution Committee. Thecommittee is a group outside the council workingon a package of structural reforms for the body.

"It's not the I'm against [increased money forthe council]," Anger says. "It's an issue thatwould be better answered after [Yardfest]. I feelwe should see what happens before we have thenerve to ask for so much more money."

And Reyes says he doubts that the council iscapable of providing several big events eachsemester.

"In the fall term, we did pass a lot of thingsthat didn't come off," Reyes says. "It wasn't thatwe were saving money for big projects in thespring. The fact of the matter is that projectsfell through."

Gabay disputes that. He notes that 1,200students attended a comedy performance by AdamSandler of Saturday Night Livelast fall.That event cost the council $10,000.

Mann also says that by improving itsinstitutional memory, the council will learn fromthe mistakes of the past.

Mann, who was instrumental in signing TheyMight Be Giants, says he plans to write aninstruction manual for future councils. He saysthe book will explicitly outline how to go aboutbringing a band to campus.

As they consider a hike in the term-billfee, council members are also moving to make itmore difficult for students to waive the $20annual charge.

Presently, students can check a box on theterm-bill to recover $16.67 of the $20. Studentscan get the remaining $3.33 by writing the dean ofstudents.

But council members are pushing a measure thatwould eliminate the check box option. Instead, allstudents wanting a refund would have to write thedean of students, Liston says.

While the measure was approved by the councillast spring, the change has not yet beenconsidered by the Faculty Council. Liston says theFaculty Council may review the proposal thisspring.

But some members say the Undergraduate Councilshould not raise the term-bill fee and eliminatethe check box option at the same time.

"The students are having more faith in theU.C., [believing] that we're starting to work forthem," says Melissa Garza '94, a member of thecouncil's re-evaluation committee. "I think it'sunfair to ask 84 percent of the students tosubsidize those who withhold the money. We shouldwork to get all of the students paying the $20before we raise the term bill."

But most council officers say any perceivedconnection between the fee hike and the newlimitations on fee waivers is purely coincidental.

"It may appear as though we're trying tohoodwink people, but that's not necessarily thecase," Gregoire says.

And Liston says allowing students to recovertheir fee with just the stroke of a pen on theirterm-bills is unfair.

"Why should a student get to enjoy Yardfest andall the benefits the U.C. has provided for themfor free?" Liston asks.

But Anger says fairness has nothing to do withit. She suggests the council is simply afraid thatmore students will take back their money.

"[The more difficult process] doesn't speak ofincreased confidence in the council," she says.

"This kind of thing has been discussed foryears," Anger adds. "Whenever the council talkedabout making it harder for people [to waive thefee], it's because they're afraid people will bededucting it."

Anticipating such criticism, Gabay and Mann,two key supporters of the elimination of the checkbox option, say they might back a compromise. Theymight be willing to wait a year before enactingthe term-bill increase, they say.

But it's clear most of the council leadershipwants more money now.

"I would like to see us wait," Gabay says, "butwe're way under what other student governments getnow."

Council members will debate the issueSunday, but students themselves may end updeciding whether the term-bill fee will go up.

Most council members interviewed by The Crimsonsay they support the term-bill increase. And ifthe package passes this Sunday, the increase willbe taken up in the Faculty Council, perhaps asearly as April 12, Liston says.

Gabay speculates that the Faculty Council willput the issue to a student referendum beforemaking a decision.

"I think it's going to rest ultimately with thestudents," Gabay says. "And if they don't want it,I don't want it."

Gabay, however, says that when he presents thepros and cons of the issue, his Quincy Houseconstituents are inclined to support it.

Former council member Niko Canner '94 says healso wants to see a student referendum.

"It seems like it's the students who are payingthe extra $10 who should decide whether it goesthrough," says Canner, who co-chairs theConstitution Committee with Anger.

Echoing Anger, Canner advises patience forcouncil members anxious to impose a term-billincrease on a potentially unreceptive studentbody.

"Perhaps if the U.C. waited and could present amore convincing resume of successful big events,"Canner says, "the student body would be morewilling."RENE REYES '95MELISSA GARZA '94Pictured at right: U.C. Vice presidentJOSHUA D. LISTON '95. At top of page, PresidentCAREY W. GABAY '94Breakdown of the fee increase Breakdownof approximate Undergraduate Council expenditurebefore and after the proposed 50% increase in feesand restructuring of the Council's budget (withpercent of total budget).