College To Examine Support for Student Groups

A student-faculty committee voted to approve a wine appreciation group and discussed reviewing both the College’s role with student groups and the Student Activities Fund yesterday.

During the Committee on College Life’s (CCL) final meeting of the year, Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd said it was time to look into a revision of how the College supports student groups and proposed creating a student group panel this summer.

Kidd said many student groups need more support, including additional space, financing and staff. She also said the College has been unable to handle this demand due to the proliferation of student groups.

“There are over 300 of them and only two people in the office,” Kidd said. “I am considering what sort of review we should do about the number of student organizations and the support that they need.”

Approval of the wine appreciation group, called the Harvard Oenalogical Society, was originally postponed during the last meeting due to concerns among committee members that the group’s provisions would not prevent underage drinking during wine tasting events.

But Kidd said the group will be treated like any other group that wants to serve alcohol.

“The CCL wanted to ensure that there would be sufficient safeguards in place to prevent underage consumption of alcohol (a BAT Team present at tasting events),” Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II wrote in an e-mail. The CCL also wanted to make sure that the group would not hold wine tasting events in the Yard before receiving approval, according to McLoughlin.

The Harvard Oenalogical Society intends to encourage wine appreciation through wine tasting, publications, lectures and other educational or cultural activities.

The committee also voted in favor of postponing consideration of a public service group, the Boston Intercollegiate Service Organization (BISCO), that would work in conjunction with students from other Boston-area colleges.

“The concerns are that it will not be a Harvard organization with Harvard leadership,” Kidd said.

BISCO would not have been connected to the Public Service Network (PSN) or the Phillip Brooks House Association (PBHA).

“Each year, the CCL and PBH see public service groups propose projects that quickly fade and dissolve as student leaders graduate or find other interests. The CCL felt the leadership of this student organization was concentrated and wanted to see the interested student base grow,” McLoughlin wrote.

The Student Activities Fund, which is intended to fund nonalcoholic campus-wide events, will also be reviewed this summer. This year, the fund had a surplus of $10,000 that was never allocated to any student groups.

“The more events like this, the better. We need to think of how to let students know about this fund,” said Matthew J. Glazer ’06, chair of the Undergraduate Council’s Student Affairs Committee. Glazer will be participating in the review.

CCL member Teddy E. Chestnut ’06 said large-scale events require the efforts of a large number of students, which most groups on campus do not have. Kidd said that next year, the CCL might approach large groups like HCC and the Prefect Program to apply for funding because they might be more able to put on large events.

The committee decided the fate of the unallocated funds. Part of it will be spent on a portable stage for Loker Commons, and the remainder will go to the Undergraduate Council for the purpose of helping groups attain audiovisual systems.

—Staff writer Ebonie D. Hazle can be reached at hazle@fas.harvard.edu.