Club Approval Process May See Overhaul

Every month around 10 new student groups come before the Committee on College Life (CCL) seeking the approval that grants them access to space and money provided by the College.

Almost 20 new groups have been approved since February, and, with over 300 different recognized extracurricular activities at the College, many have begun to wonder why the numbers keep growing.

Students have taken advantage of the newly simplified process toward recognition—after filling out an online form, meeting with an administrator to make sure the group meets the College’s basic requirements, all that is left is the final stamp of approval from the CCL, which meets once each month.

The needs and objectives of the accepted groups vary widely—ranging from groups like Harvard Lovers of the Garden State to the Harvard International Review.

“Each student group serves a distinctly different purpose,” says Undergraduate Council Student Affairs Committee Chair Aaron D. Chadbourne ’05. “But in having all of those groups, we need to make sure that recognition actually does mean something. When you do have so many groups, resources are scarce.”

Last spring, Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd called for the formation of the Sub-Committee on Harvard Student Organizations to discuss the growing number of groups, The sub-committee met for the first time in September.

The College also hired an intern this summer to put together a report on student organizations at 15 peer institutions.

The report allowed administrators to compare the Harvard system to others across the country and concluded that, on average, the schools had a similar ratio of students to student groups at Harvard.

The difference was in the method of approval of student groups. Many schools have a more stratified approval process, where access to various school resources is based on the level of recognition granted to a student organization.

At Brown, for example, student groups are placed into one of three categories, and only those on the top level of recognition are able to use funding from certain administrative sources.

“I changed my mind that sheer numbers were a problem,” Kidd says. “Instead, it is the specific way these groups are organized.”

One of the roles of the subcommittee is to discuss the possibility of instituting a tiered system with different levels of recognition for different types of groups. But Kidd says she “can’t imagine having more than two tiers.”

Right now, groups that don’t fit the single set of qualifications for

recognition cannot receive any benefits from the College—including the ability to reserve rooms, publicize on campus, use the Harvard name with their organization, access Harvard Box Office ticketing, or apply for University grants.

But with different categories of recognition, some of these benefits may be accessible to groups without full administrative sponsorship.

SINGLE-SEX SOIREE

Tied in with the issue of different recognition levels is the College’s strained relationship with single-sex organizations on campus.

Prior to recent discussions, the College has had virtually no official communications with final clubs and Greek organizations on campus for the last two decades.

But while evaluating the recognition process of student groups in general, the presence of final clubs kept coming up, Kidd says.

Not only has there been a proliferation of social groups in the last decade—including female final clubs, sororities and fraternities—but students are starting to speak up. And the College is listening.

“I would like to have an open line of conversation with the final clubs,” Kidd says.

The issue of final clubs was also mentioned in a September report about alcohol use on campus—which advocated more communication with social organizations to minimize dangerous drinking.

“The University does not officially recognize these groups, and the Committee acknowledges that there are very strong reasons for this policy. Nevertheless, we recommend that the policy be reexamined,” the report stated.

Even if more dialogue with social clubs helps improve safety and administrative concerns, some are skeptical that it will result in an overall gain for students.

“I’m not sure if the recognition of single-sex organizations will improve student life.” subcommittee member Jason L. Lurie ’05 says.

Administrators have already met with the presidents of many of these single-sex organizations. The subcommittee met with the presidents of all-female clubs on Jan. 11—including the Bee, Delta Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma, the Isis, Pleiades, the Sabliere Society, and the Seneca—and met with the presidents of male social clubs on Feb. 1—including Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Delphic Club for Gentlemen, the Fly, the Fox, the Porcellian, the Phoenix SK, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and the Spee.

The subcommittee’s subsequent meeting on March 8 to discuss the issues raised saw no unanimity of opinion, but indicated a further commitment to examine these issues.

The subcommittee will discuss these issues further with Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 and Deputy Dean Patricia O’Brien in May and most likely will come out with a report on student group recognition next fall, according to Kidd.

The women’s organizations—as well as male organizations who do not have a house—voiced concerns about the lack of space for events.

Female groups also criticized the College for not addressing the presence of final clubs on campus in the past.

Though the ban on single-sex organizations was originally instituted to protect women, according to the subcommittee, the policy is not meeting its original goals.

Female group leaders stressed the important role that they say single-sex organizations play at Harvard, claiming that the administration’s decision to ignore them was counterproductive to promoting women’s social status on campus.

“We don’t want to encourage an increasing exclusive system,” Kidd says. “But we want to consider the implications that our policy of non-recognition has had.”

“This whole discussion is not necessarily about the acceptance of final clubs,” Chadbourne says. “It’s about the relationship between single-sex organizations to the College. The most productive aspect of this entire conversation is that it forces the College to take a look at what recognition by the College means.”

Kidd also says that changing an institution as old as Harvard is a difficult task, especially with concerns about tradition and alumni.

“We must be mindful of Harvard’s history,” she says. “Some alums would be horrified at the idea of a big Greek system at Harvard.”

Before being able to make a recommendation, the subcommittee on student groups says they would want more information about the way these final clubs work, including specifics of the punch process, finding out how many students are involved and what the demand is, and also whether certain organizations would even accept an offer of recognition, especially if certain modifications of current procedures were required.

In addition, the subcommittee discussed the need to consider the impact that recognition would have on the majority of students that have no affiliation with final clubs.

The option of opening up recognition to single-sex groups while still excluding final clubs is another possibility. Certain requirements, such as asking that recognized groups manage their own finances, would leave final clubs out of the picture as most of their funds are managed by alumni, according to subcommittee members.

THE SOCIAL LIFE QUESTION

When the Residential Houses began randomization, the goal was to form “social enclaves” that avoided the exclusivity associated with other elements of social life, Kidd says.

But Kidd added that she recognizes that Houses are not playing that role.

The administration’s investigation into the role student groups play is one component of a new focus on student life outside of the classroom.

One question looming in the minds of administrators has been whether or not extracurricular activities can play a social role.

Though Kidd says that she originally thought extracurriculars were a part of social life, she says that senior surveys have consistently reported that students are happy with their extracurricular life but have found less satisfaction in their social life.

“We need people to think about what they really mean by social life,” Kidd says.

Administrators have been trying to integrate social elements into extracurricular life. Next year’s activities fair will include food, bands and other celebrations, according to an email from Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II.

“We’re playing around with many different issues right now to see how students’ extracurricular and social activities can enhance the Harvard experience,” Kidd says.

—Staff writer Nicole B. Urken can be reached at urken@fas.harvard.edu.