HoCos Benefit From UC Budget Surplus

House Committees may be receiving $800 more than they did last fall from the Undergraduate Council.

The Council presented a provisional budget this past Sunday that notes that the 12 HoCos will receive approximately $5,400 from the UC in upfront funding. Dudley House will receive a smaller increase that is proportional to its size.

The Council is expected to pass the measure next Sunday after it has gone before the Finance Commitee (FiCom).

UC Treasurer Anthony R. Britt ’10 said the UC’s overall budget increased by 11 percent this year. Britt said the increase could be attributed to fewer students opting out of the Student Activities Fee on their term bills.

Last year, 12.3 percent of undergraduates opted out of the annual $75 fee compared to 6.5 percent from this year, according to Britt.

A lower rate of opt-out may be due to changes by the Student Activities Office for the opt-out procedure, FiCom Chair Andrea R. Flores ’10 said. In years past, students wrote an e-mail to opt out, but this year the SAO required students to write a letter to remove the term bill charge.

At the beginning of this semester, HoCos received an additional boost to their budget from the newly-created Student Life Fund—a joint venture between the UC and the College Dean’s Office. Under the fund, HoCos are eligible for two grants of up to $1,250 each—enough money to fund approximately one formal per semester.

The fund also sponsors domestic travel for student organizations.

Last spring when the UC gave money that was originally earmarked for party grants to HoCos, each of the 12 upperclass Houses received an extra $1,000 on top of the $4,870 in upfront funding. Dudley House received $366 in addition to its $1,780 in initial funding.

Constitutionally, the UC must give each HoCo $4,500 every semester. Britt said the amount beyond that minimum is determined based on term bill revenue. The Council divides 25 percent of its budget each semester across the 12 Houses equally and awards Dudley one-sixteenth of that amount plus $1,000. He added that the UC traditionally awards HoCos more money in the spring semester because, by that point in the year, the Council has a better idea of how to allocate the remaining budget.

—Staff writer Chelsea L. Shover can be reached at clshover@fas.harvard.edu.