Ending Student Theft

Not too long ago, a conscientious member of the Currier House Committee found a discrepancy in the group's financial records, amounting to over $7000 in funds missing from the organization. Many Currier students were alarmed to think that someone in their house might have committed a crime. As for the nature of the act itself, though, the reaction seemed to be a lot more casual. "Oh, another embezzlement," one student said.

Something is wrong with this picture. The word embezzlement should not roll off the tongue quite so easily. Sure, college is the time to make mistakes. But the appropriation of funds is not just an Ad Board problem. It is a federal offense. Nevertheless, it seems that at about this time every year, a great deal of money is revealed to be missing from the coffers of one student organization or another.

Instead of pointing fingers and feeding the rumor mills, students should look for more constructive ways to approach the alleged Currier theft, as well as past instances of embezzlement from such groups as the Yearbook, the Krokodiloes, and An Evening with Champions. We should try to examine the reasons why so many major embezzling cases have occurred in such a short span of time. Although these may seem to be isolated incidents, there may be common elements in the finances of organizations which make stealing money an attractive venture.

One obvious culprit is the nature of the record keeping itself. Half of the Currier records would not be admissible in court, simply because some of the pencil-and-paper accounting fails to indicate where money had been paid. The choice to embezzle is always a crime, but crimes are easy to commit when there is little chance of detection.

Certainly, Currier House Committee is not unique in its record keeping style, and cannot be blamed for the theft of its funds. Still, the incident brings to light the need for improvements in financial records for groups all over campus. Even those whose financial files are kept more closely are not subject to regular audits. The hundreds of campus organizations patronize a variety of banks in the Square, and are not overseen by any administrative body. The problems that stem from this lack of accountability are compounded by the rapid turnover in treasurers, who in most organizations do not hold the position for any more than a year.

It is time for accounting to become more centralized. Perhaps Harvard should require that its campus groups work with a single bank, which can set up guidelines for check-writing and other financial reports. Balancing a checkbook may not seem that difficult, but many campus organizations look like small businesses at times, businesses that have an often overwhelming flow of payments that need to be processed. The bank could even offer training for newly elected treasurers. Many an eager but inexperienced club member is thrust into this position so that older members can concentrate on the "visionary" aspects of running their projects.

Perhaps it is naive to think that the temptation to embezzle would cease if treasury records were audited more often. As long as wealthy organizations exist, the lure of siphoning off money may still prove to be great for a few people. More administrative control is probably not desirable either, since most likely the financially secure clubs would simply declare independence from the University so they would not be subject to oversight. Further, the sheer number of grants given out by the Undergraduate Council to organizations each semester shows that club finances are often unstable from year to year and that big bank accounts remain just a dream for most groups.

Still, the current policy in which organizations must submit a rough budget to the Dean's Office each semester has clearly not worked well enough to prevent thousands of dollars from disappearing from organizations year after year. All campus groups could benefit from a few simple financial lessons. Rather than wasting time speculating about the alleged perpetrator at Currier House, we should concentrate on preventing these crimes before they have a chance to be committed.

Corinne E. Funk's column appears on alternate Tuesdays.