Changing Course, College Agrees to Upfront HoCo Funding

On a day when signs posted around campus implored students to “Fight Back” against funding cuts for in-room parties, the Undergraduate Council (UC) and the administration have almost reached a resolution on the issue of funding for larger House Committee (HoCo) social events.

The $4,500 that each HoCo receives per semester from the UC comes from the optional student activities fee included in each student's termbill. In previous semesters, this amount was allocated to the HoCos as an upfront lump sum to be used at their discretion for House events. However, following the administration's demand that the UC terminate its in-room party grants program last week and the Council's defiance of this decision, the issue of whether HoCos and student groups would continue to receive upfront funding came into question during Tuesday's meetings between UC Executive Board members and administrators.

In an e-mail obtained by The Crimson, Associate Dean for Residential Life Suzy M. Nelson assured HoCo chairs and treasurers last night that HoCos and student groups will continue to receive funds for their social events, but she did not specify whether they would receive them upfront or retroactively. However, in subsequent e-mail exchanges and in this morning's Committee on House Life (CHL) meeting, Nelson confirmed that HoCos will still receive their $4,500 as an upfront lump sum each semesterbecause there is greater supervision in the Houses, citing the involvement of masters and resident tutors in HoCo events.

"I don't anticipate any problem with the UC getting your money to you as they have in the past," Nelson wrote to the treasurers at 11 p.m. last night, following several e-mail exchanges. "Your events are monitored and there are checks in place for the lawful service of alcohol. There is no issue here that I can see, and no reason not to fund your events as they have been funded in the past."

This decision marks a significant departure from Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II's statement on Tuesday that student groups would have to file receipts from their events before the University reimburses any spending.

"They've shown us they can't be trusted, so we've asked them to go into a reimbursement method. They will have to show us receipts for everything," McLoughlin said on Tuesday.

In order to get the approved money out to HoCos, the Executive Board of the UC has called an emergency meeting scheduled for this evening for allocation of these funds.

Both Nelson and Michael R. Ragalie ’09, chair of the UC’s Student Affairs Committee, emphasized that the precise details of this agreement have not been finalized.

“We just all need to get on the same page on how…we get all the checks and balances into place,” Nelson said. “That’s what we haven’t ironed yet.”

According to Ragalie, the Executive Board was made aware of this policy shift around 11:30 p.m. last night.

“We’re kind of in a crisis atmosphere. The rules are changing constantly,” Ragalie said. “Clearly the administration is making the rules more lenient as time goes around.”

This ambiguity can also be seen in various administrators’ other seemingly contradictory statements. In addition to the issue of HoCo funding, McLoughlin said on Tuesday that if the UC did not comply, the administration would establish its own grant-distribution body. However, Nelson today insisted there would be no such body.

“Originally they were threatening to start their own grant-giving body, and now we’re at the point where they’re saying, ‘It’s okay if you give money to HoCos,’” Ragalie said.

Meanwhile, former Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross '71 expressed approval for Interim Dean of the College David R. Pilbeam's decision to terminate the UC in-room party grant system.

"I support David Pilbeams's decision - the laws on underage drinking are pretty clear, and as an institution we have to follow them," he wrote in an e-mail.