Committee Approves Changes to Fund

A student-faculty committee voted to approve changes to the Student Activities Fund yesterday.

The Student Activities Fund, which funds non-alcoholic campuswide social events, underwent extensive review this summer following a $10,000 surplus that was never allocated to student groups. The fund, a $25,000 trust, is controlled by the Dean of the College.

During the Committee on College Life’s (CCL) first meeting of the year, Matthew J. Glazer ’06, the chair of the Undergraduate Council’s Student Affairs Committee who spearheaded the review, suggested that the guidelines be revised to include arts groups as potential recipients. He also recommended opening funding to larger groups such as the Harvard Concert Commission, the Prefect Program and the First-Year Social Committee.

But Glazer also suggested capping the amount of money funneled toward larger organizations at $10,000. The remaining $15,000 would fund smaller events sponsored by smaller student groups, he said.

“We wanted to make certain that we didn’t let the large groups eat the lion’s share of the money,” said Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd.

Glazer recommended that the fund be more actively advertised, finance some events retroactively and improve its reimbursement system.

As part of its efforts to increase oversight of student groups, the College has required student groups to register online this year.

But Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II said that as of the Oct. 25 deadline, 153 student groups registered, down from 305 last year.

Student groups that failed to meet the registration deadline would receive an e-mail reminder, Kidd said.

Kidd also announced the members of a subcommittee on Harvard College Student Organizations. The committee, which she will chair, will examine the growth of unrecognized and recognized student groups on campus and is tentatively slated to meet in early November, Kidd said.

Last May, Kidd and McLoughlin announced plans to convene this subcommittee to study current undergraduate extracurricular regulations.

At the meeting, CCL also voted to approve several new student groups, including a Jon Stewart Club that generated around 250 student signatures in a show of support, McLoughlin said.

—Staff writer Margaret W. Ho can be reached at mwho@fas.harvard.edu.