Council Debates Springfest Funding

The Undergraduate Council cautiously discussed last night a proposal by the University president’s office to fund Springfest, with members emphasizing the need to restore student involvement in the organization of this year’s event.

University President Lawrence H. Summers sponsored the fair for the first time last year, covering the bulk of the expense while changing the event to target the broader University community.

At last night’s council meeting, Summers’ Chief of Staff Marne Levine announced that the president’s office is willing to fund even more of Springfest this year. Levine stressed Summers’ continuing desire to host a family-friendly event that “appeals to the community at large.”

In the brief question-and-answer session that followed Levine’s presentation, council members expressed concern that the interests of undergraduates would be neglected amidst efforts to broaden the event’s reach.

Levine said that the president’s office would not pay for a big-name band to headline Springfest. Last year, a band was the one major expense that the council funded on its own.

Levine suggested that the council might this year instead “host a separate event featuring a major band.”

After Levine left, the council invoked a rare “executive session,” temporarily expelling all non-members from its chamber.

Council President Rohit Chopra ’04 said later that this action was taken to ensure that council members could speak freely.

“I think there’s some things people would have been scared to say,” he said.

Chopra said the council’s role in Springfest was weakened after the administration became involved last year. He said the council was never told how much money the president’s office spent.

Chopra added that an increase in funding from Summers raises worries that the administration might “co-opt the event even more.”

Council Vice President Jessica R. Stannard-Friel ’04, who was on the committee that planned Springfest last year, said a lack of prior agreement about the respective roles of the president’s office and the council created difficulties.

Last year, administration representatives ended up composing agendas and presiding over meetings, according to Stannard-Friel.

“I don’t think they intended to take it over—it just sort of evolved that way,” she said. “This year, we’re going into this with our eyes open.”

Chopra said the council will “draw up a very specific agreement” with the president’s office to ensure the continued role of students in planning the event.

“There were concerns expressed about the slippery slope,” he said.

Stannard-Friel worried that an increase in funding from the administration would give Summers’ office more leverage over the event. “Given that they’re putting in more money...they’ll be able to say, ‘We’re not going to fund that,’” she said.

Levine and other Summers representatives could not be reached for comment last night.

In other business, the council approved the first batch of grant allocations under its newly-instated project-based application system.

The council also set up a shuttle to Logan International Airport for Spring Break, to run every even hour from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 21 and every even hour from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 22.

—Staff writer William B. Higgins can be reached at whiggins@fas.harvard.edu.