Council Approves Barbecue

With barely enough time to recover from Springfest, the Undergraduate Council approved another round of grants and a barbecue to take place in the Quad next week—on the unlikely condition that “copious amounts” of alcohol are served—at its meeting last night.

The council is dealing with an unprecedented storm of 240 grant applications, which could drastically reduce a previously anticipated surplus.

“We certainly won’t have a large surplus,” Finance Committee Chair Joshua A. Barro ’05 said.

Council Treasurer Justin R. Chapa ’05 said the previous high in applications for one period was “around 120.”

Barro called the large number of grant applications “both a blessing and a curse.”

“We’re happy so many people are applying, though it is certainly a pain to have to deal with so many of them,” he said.

Barro said that the council’s efforts to better publicize the grant system may have contributed to the number of applications, along with simple procrastination—groups trying to cram all their applications in before the final deadline of the year.

“It’s great for student groups,” Chapa said. He stressed that groups must submit completed project forms before they can collect their money.

The most heated debate over allocating grant money concerned $500 allocated to Mather House for its “Mather Lather” party Saturday night.

Some council members criticized the hosts of the event for selling too many tickets and said they were not deserving of council funds.

“They were selling tickets at the door even as the cops were escorting people out,” said council member Joseph R. Oliveri ’05.

In the end, however, the council voted to allow the Mather allocation to stand, with the package containing it passing unanimously.

The council also voted to amend the Quad barbecue proposal, presented by council member Michael S. Gerrity ’05, to ensure that alcohol is served at the event. If alcohol is not approved by the administration, the proposal stipulates that the barbecue will be canceled.

“It is highly unlikely that this event will happen,” Gerrity said in an e-mail.

“We have received no word from the dean’s office and it would be a week from tomorrow and last I heard they were opposed to alcohol.”

But Gerrity suggested the proposal has symbolic significance—advancing the council’s effort to secure the ability to serve alcohol at its events.

“I feel like a barbecue with sports, beer and good food is a very college-typical activity that students at this school should have the opportunity to enjoy,” Gerrity wrote.

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