UC Dishes Out Hefty Grant Portions

The Undergraduate Council (UC), which cut its costs this past spring by abolishing one of its three committees, doled out a record-setting sum to student groups and upped funding by $1,000 for each of the residential Houses at a three-hour session last night.

The UC has allocated $421,634 this year for student groups and House committees (HoCos)—a 10 percent increase from last year, according to UC Treasurer Benjamin W. Milder ’08.

The increase in available funds is the result of two major changes, according to Milder. First, the UC’s Campus Life Committee previously was responsible for planning and funding social events such as pep rallies, airport shuttle busses, and $1 movie nights. But the committee was scrapped in May. Its responsibilities—and, hence, its financial obligations—were transferred to the newly-formed College Events Board.

Second, Milder said, more students are paying the voluntary termbill surcharge that funds UC operations.

“Only 19 percent opted out this year, whereas 25 percent opted out last year,” he said.

The portion of the student body that chose not to fund the UC by opting out of the termbill surcharge had skyrocketed last year—from 15.9 percent to almost a full quarter of the student body.

But now, Milder said, “People have more trust in us.”

LOSE THE DUES

The abolition of the Campus Life Committee and the increase in HoCo funding were both initially approved in a hectic week this past May during which the UC overhauled its own structure.

The council voted that month to impose new conditions on HoCos receiving UC funding. Those HoCos are no longer permitted to charge membership dues. In exchange, each residential HoCo now receives $4,500, a 22 percent raise.

A co-chair of the Lowell HoCo, Jonathan V. Brewer ’07, said the increased funding has freed his House from its reliance on membership fees. Brewer said that Lowell HoCo leaders “hated charging house dues, and this increase gave us enough money to do away with them.”

But one HoCo was less thrilled by the outcome of last night’s vote.

The bill originally included a $2,250 grant to the HoCo of Dudley—which encompasses students living at the Dudley Cooperative House near Porter Square as well as other undergrads at off-campus sites. But UC representatives voted to have the grant removed before the bill was passed.

Representatives questioned whether Dudley events funded by the grant would be open to Harvard undergraduates from other Houses.

UC representatives also raised concern over how the grant total was determined. “We haven’t seen any evidence of what their actual costs are,” Milder said of the Dudley committee.

After heated debate, Haddock interceded. “We need to have productive and supportive debates,” he said. “Bickering and yelling is not meaningful.”

Dudley Co-operative President Alexandra B. Munoz ’07 said the grant was necessary to build a greater sense of community for students living off campus.

“We need to throw block parties to get acquainted with people in Cambridge,” Munoz said. “Unlike you guys, we have to have a relationship with our community.”

After what Haddock called “attacks” on the Dudley Co-op leaders who had visited the council, UC Vice President Annie R. Riley said, “It’s more important that we respect the guests.”

The UC voted to reconsider the Dudley grant at the next general meeting.

—Staff writer Rachel Banks can be reached at banks@fas.harvard.edu.