PBHA Lifts Ban On New Groups

A four-month moratorium prohibiting new social action and service groups from applying for admittance to Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) ended last Sunday.

The PBHA Officers' Committee voted to break the moratorium that was put into effect by last year's officers.

Those former officers instituted the ban because they wanted time to create a formal policy for admitting new groups that would make the process less subjective, according to Roy. E. Bahat '98, current president of PBHA.

Since the moratorium was lifted, the new official criteria have gone into effect and several groups have applied for admittance, Bahat said.

Groups affiliated with PBHA are eligible for its financial support, office space and staff assistance.

The new admission policy states that programs wishing to join PBHA must demonstrate uniqueness, undergraduate volunteer interest, strong internal organization and the ability to finance themselves without "undue reliance upon PBHA's resources."

A new program must be run by Harvard undergraduates and "can not merely serve as a referral agent," the policy statement continues.

It also requires that at least two programming chairs, one member of the Officers' Committee and two members of the PBHA Cabinet must be present to decide whether or not to admit a group.

"We're still going to be very careful in admitting new groups so that we can do it sustainably and effectively," Bahat said. "It's important that the officers realize that we can sustain both social action and social service programs."

Rebecca E. Stich '98, PBHA programming co-chair, said that the new list holds PBHA programs up to higher quality standards and requires the officers to analyze whether a program's function overlaps with existing programs and whether it serves a community that needs it.

Both Bahat and Stich said that admitting new groups will not put a strain on the organization's finances because individual PBHA groups raise most of their money by themselves.

According to Bahat, the biggest constraint on how many groups the organization can admit is the number of vans PBHA owns.

Bahat and Stich said yesterday that space will not be an issue when new groups are admitted, although House and Neighborhood Development (HAND) will probably move into Phillips Brooks House when the Religion Department vacates the third floor of the building.

Noah R. Feinstein '98, outgoing co-chair of HAND and a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Standing Committee on Public Service, said yesterday he is 95 percent certain that HAND will move into PBH.

According to Feinstein, Judith H. Kidd, assistant dean of public service, made it clear to him that the move is very likely.

"The increased space or money demands of a single additional program aren't great" Stich said. "In the past we have worked well enough with the administration to accommodate our needs as they grew."

"I believe that if we're running good programs that serve the needs of communities and that require more space and funding, our alumni and the administration will recognize that," she added.

At its meeting tomorrow, the Officers' Committee will decide how to go about appealing to PBHA alumni for contributions to its annual fund drive.

According to Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol--who chairs the Standing Committee on Public Service--space is not on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting of the committee.

Skocpol, who said she was unaware that the moratorium had been lifted, added that she is pleased that new groups will be able to be admitted to PBHA.

Skocpol said that PBHA may suffer a financial strain when new groups are added, and that it is up to its student leaders to decide how to allocate resources to those groups.

"The students know perfectly well they can't support an infinite amount of [groups]," she said

Noah R. Feinstein '98, outgoing co-chair of HAND and a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Standing Committee on Public Service, said yesterday he is 95 percent certain that HAND will move into PBH.

According to Feinstein, Judith H. Kidd, assistant dean of public service, made it clear to him that the move is very likely.

"The increased space or money demands of a single additional program aren't great" Stich said. "In the past we have worked well enough with the administration to accommodate our needs as they grew."

"I believe that if we're running good programs that serve the needs of communities and that require more space and funding, our alumni and the administration will recognize that," she added.

At its meeting tomorrow, the Officers' Committee will decide how to go about appealing to PBHA alumni for contributions to its annual fund drive.

According to Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol--who chairs the Standing Committee on Public Service--space is not on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting of the committee.

Skocpol, who said she was unaware that the moratorium had been lifted, added that she is pleased that new groups will be able to be admitted to PBHA.

Skocpol said that PBHA may suffer a financial strain when new groups are added, and that it is up to its student leaders to decide how to allocate resources to those groups.

"The students know perfectly well they can't support an infinite amount of [groups]," she said