UC Doubles Frosh Party Grants

The Undergraduate Council (UC) passed two party fund acts yesterday—including an increased fund for first-years—in a session marking the end of the term for outgoing UC leaders John S. Haddock ’07 and Annie R. Riley ’07.

Haddock—sporting a brace-clad leg and a set of crutches in the wake of an injury sustained during a soccer game—was seated as the first bit of legislation regarding party fund arrangements passed without any debate.

“This looks pretty standard,” he said prior to the vote.

And indeed, the legislation itself did not mark a departure from the first-semester party fund policy, which collectively allotted $1,700 to sophomores, juniors, and seniors each weekend to subsidize social activities.

Subject to a bit more debate was the docket’s second item—an act calling for three $100 party grants to be distributed to first-year students each weekend for the duration of a three-week trial period. A previous three-week trial period had included weekly grants that amounted to only $50 each.

The interest in the initial three-week trial “was not incredibly high,” according to Jon T. Staff V ’10, who presented the bill calling for the grant increase along with fellow first-years Nworah B. Ayogu and Soren Rosier.

At issue, said Agoyu in the course of the presentation, were the limited options available to potential party hosts faced with only a $50 grant.

“We have a lot of e-mails saying that the party fund is great,” he said. “But with 50 dollars you can’t really do that much.”

An amendment seeking to reduce the proposed party funds to $50 was what sparked the last debate of the old UC.

“I think this is something that could easily descend into something where 100 dollars is being spent to buy Hershey Kisses and Tostitos, of which 30 dollars are being eaten by the people there,” said Geoffrey D. Kearney ’07, one of the amendment’s more vocal defendants.

Despite such testimony, the amendment was declined and the proposed act passed, leaving freshmen with $100 party grants for the next couple of weeks. The meeting was then allowed to proceed to the more ceremonial business of recognizing various representatives for a term well-spent.

Following remarks by Financial Committee leader Lori M. Adelman ’08 and Student Affairs Committee head Petersen, Kearney issued a rendition of S Club 7’s “Never Had a Dream Come True”—which petered out because of an avowedly inadequate knowledge of the lyrics—outgoing vice-president Riley had her turn.

“I think what John and I have really accomplished in the last year is to pave the way for this group to be very successful,” she said, referencing the Haddock-led restructuring that resulted in the purgation of the erstwhile Campus Life Committee (CLC).

Reflecting on his tenure as president, Haddock cited the increased diversity of UC representatives and the competitive nature of recent elections as points of pride. Still, he appeared ready to let go.

“Hopefully I’ll just be able to sit in the back and let Petersen do his thing,” he said.

—Staff writer Christian B. Flow can be reached at cflow@fas.harvard.edu.