Caught in Spat, House Committees Will Still Receive Funds

After a week of brinkmanship sparked by the College’s decision to cancel a program that funds room parties, students and administrators showed signs of compromise yesterday.

College officials agreed to continue funding the student-run House Committees up-front, two days after the University decided to freeze all money, including funds for HoCos, that is normally collected by the Undergraduate Council from a student-paid termbill fee.

HoCos will continue to receive $4,500 as an up-front lump sum each semester, Associate Dean for Residential Life Suzy M. Nelson said at yesterday’s meeting of the Committee on House Life.

Nelson said the committees, which plan small and large-scale events that often involve alcohol, would continue to receive funding because they were taking proper measures to prevent underage drinking.

Separately, in a special meeting last night, the UC considered a proposal for a legal agreement between Harvard and the Council that would allow all of its funds to be unfrozen in exchange for the UC immediately dropping its party fund program.

The bill, which was not voted on, called for the appointment of a special referee to mediate future funding conflicts between the University and the student government. UC President Ryan A. Petersen ’08 called it a “compromise proposal”—but it remains to be seen whether the College will accept it.

Developments yesterday and late Wednesday marked a departure from a more confrontational tone both sides have taken since Interim Dean of the College David R. Pilbeam announced on Oct. 2 that he was ending the UC party grant program because of concerns about underage drinking and student health. The program distributed $1,750 every week to fund parties around campus.

After the UC defied Pilbeam’s decision last week by continuing to pay money out of its party fund, the up-front funding that HoCos and student groups receive from the UC appeared to hang in the balance.

On Tuesday, Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II said the UC would only be able to distribute funds via reimbursement—rather than paying the money up-front. “They will have to show us receipts for everything,” McLoughlin told The Crimson on Tuesday.

He did not return requests for comment yesterday.

But in an e-mail Wednesday night, Nelson assured HoCos that they would continue to receive funds for social events and that the means of dispensing the money would not change.

Following Nelson’s announcement, the UC last night unanimously approved a bill to allocate the usual amount of money to the HoCos. The vote drew a loud round of applause in the Grays Hall basement classroom where the Council met.

The $4,500 that each HoCo receives per semester from the UC comes from the $75 student activities fee included on an opt-out basis in each undergraduate’s termbill.

Some HoCo chairs remained confused about when and if their committees would receive money. The Quincy HoCo is departing from previous practice and asking House residents to pay for Quincy apparel ahead of time, rather than upon receipt.

“We wanted to make sure that we had a safe minimum balance because we didn’t know whether or not we could expect the $4,500 check we’re used to getting,” Quincy HoCo Co-Chair Jane Fang ’08 said in an interview last night. “We’re hearing so many conflicting reports on all sides and we’re stuck in the middle of this showdown.”

Nelson yesterday also pulled back from a suggestion by McLoughlin on Tuesday that the College might establish its own grant-giving body for student groups if the UC did not stop funding dorm parties.

“We’re kind of in a crisis atmosphere,” Michael R. Ragalie ’09, chair of the UC’s Student Affairs Committee said yesterday. “The rules are changing constantly.”

—Christian B. Flow contributed to the reporting of this story.
—Staff writer Aditi Banga can be reached at abanga@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Victoria B. Kabak can be reached at vkabak@fas.harvard.edu.