Student Groups Ask: Can You Spare a Dime?

Despite the praise Harvard garners for the diversity of its students interests and involvements, money worries plague many student groups.

Groups report the plaudits they receive far outweigh the financial support. Many say they must pinch their pennies--and search for the dollars--to send students to competitions, put out publications and host events.

The majority of student groups rely on funds from endowments, University foundations and College, alumni and Undergraduate Council grants. But many say the size of these funds does not reflect the contribution their group makes to the University.

"Diversity & Distinction has done a lot for the community, and I wonder if [The University] could give us more money," says Jia-Rui Chong '99, editor-in-chief of Diversity & Distinction (D&D). "The University has certain responsibilities to its student groups that a lot of times it doesn't really pay attention to."

Chong says D&D has been in debt since the beginning of the year and is still unable to pay many of its bills.

Student leaders say lack of funding also affects Harvard's performance in national competitions.

The Pre-Law Society and Mock Trial Team won a place in national competitions last spring but could not attend because it did not have enough money to transport students to Cornell for the competition.

The Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society(HSPDS) limits first-years to participation inthree competitions due to lack of funding.

Many student leaders fault the University--notthe council or their own methods offundraising--for the lack of money in studentorganizations.

University funding comes through four mainchannels. To receive these grants, groups must beofficially recognized by the College. TheUniversity spends about $1.2 million inunrestricted funds annually on student activities,according to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R.Knowles' January 26 letter to the Faculty.

Many students say each channel requires itsrecipients to comply with strict criteria, makingit difficult for some groups to qualify for anyUniversity funding at all.

Some suggest the University should change itspolicy and distribute funds through a singleoffice.

"If the University ran a centralized fundsupported with alumni donations they could solvethe problem," says Thomas G. Saunders '00,co-president of the Mock Trial Team and Pre-LawSociety, who manages the team's activities.

Saunders says he believes the University shouldbe more willing to financially support neworganizations. The Mock Trial team started twoyears ago.

"Whether it's the U.C. or some larger fund runby the University, there should be something tohelp those groups which are just getting off theground," Saunders said.

Where The Money Is

Currently, student leaders in search of fundinghave a complicated course to navigate.

The President's Public Service Fund Grantssupport undergraduate public service activities onand off campus. These grants are for "one-time,non-recurring special public service projects,"according to the Harvard College Handbook forStudent Organizations.

The Harvard Foundation for Intercultural andRace Relations (HFIRR) awards more than 40 grantseach semester to student groups that "facilitatethe understanding and sharing of racial and ethnicperspective," according to the handbook.

There are also other types of foundations, someof which are endowed.

The Office for the Arts provides grants toundergraduates, graduate students, faculty andstaff for new artistic projects. A committee ofthe Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), theHarvard Council on the Arts, awards grants "toencourage undergraduates' own original creativework," states in the Handbook.

In addition to these established foundations,Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III says hisoffice has $8,000 to distribute to student groups.

He says he provides this money to groups on a"case by case" basis at "his own discretion." Eppsadds that he uses this money mainly for peertraining groups, women's leadership groups andgroups concerned with security issues.

Cash from the Council

The Undergraduate Council is also a source offunding for student groups, and many studentleaders praise the council's attempts to almostsingle-handedly finance student organizations.

But they say without University support councilgrants cover minimal percentages of student groupbudgets.

"The U.C. has been extremely generous to us intheir grants," says Daniel L. Tobey '99, treasurerof HSPDS. "But a generous U.C. grant only covers asmall fraction of our expenses."

The council awarded $1,000 to the team lastyear, according to council records.

Some of the funding for student groups comesdirectly from the student body. Students have theoption of paying a $20 student activity fee ontheir term bills, and some of the money collectedfrom this goes to student group grants.

For the 1997-1998 year the council received$126,500 from termbill fees and spent $104,693.84on student groups.

"Every student group fills out an applicationlisting their expected need and their budget forthat year," expkains council President Beth A.Stewart '99.

The council awards two different kinds ofgrants to students. One type, the "project-basedgrant," funds a specific activity that a groupchoses to undertake.

The council gave project-based grants to sixdifferent groups last year.

Student groups that have no funds remaining bythe end of the year can apply for a general grant.Last year 117 groups applied for these grants, and110 received them.

Some student leaders also praised the council'said in cost-cutting. The council is currentlyexploring a plan to loan out College-owned vansfor student group use.

Arrested Development?

Many groups also receive funding from theiralumni in the form of endowments or help onparticular projects.

But these forms of funding fail to financiallysupport many student organizations.

"We are underfunded," says Justin Osofsky '99,president of HSPDS. "Generally the University haddeclined [our requests for funding]. It uses theU.C. for this."

In addition to grants from the council, theteam judges at high school debate tournaments toraise money.

Osofsky adds that other schools have greaterfunds for their debating teams.

"Most other schools receive some level ofuniversity funding," Osofsky says.

He says the Harvard team's lack of funds putsit at a disadvantage in comparison with other,more heavily funded university teams.

"The unfortunate thing about student groups isthat it really does hurt a team [not to receivefunding from the university]," Osofsky says."Other schools gain a competitive advantage overus."

Tobey, the group's treasurer, says althoughHarvard's debate team is one of the best in thenation, it could attend many more tournaments ifthe University helped to fund the team.

"We could be doing so much more and making agood name for the University but we don't have themoney," he says.

Student leaders of D&D say they feel similarlyconstrained by finances.

Due to its debt, D&D is unable to print enoughcopies of the magazine to distribute one to eachdoor. Chong says D&D is usually 28 pages, but theeditors had to reduce the size of this year'sfirst edition to 24 pages because they did nothave the funds to publish the full number ofpages.

D&D earns revenues from advertising in itspages, ticket sales to movies that the groupsponsors in the Science Center and grants from theUndergraduate Council and the HFIRR.

"Ideally our magazine would be able to functionon its own but we're not at that point yet," Chongsaid. "Our business department is having a reallytough time."

The Bach Society Orchestra (BSO) has also hadto modify its goals due to financial restrictions.

"I've had to say `No, we can't play that piece,because we don't have the money to play that,"says BSO General Manager Elizabeth K. Ridlington'99, explaining that the rights to music writtenafter 1900 cost more.

"I'd like to know that there's something comingfrom the College," she says. "It would be nice toknow that there's a back-up system."

The BSO currently operates on money from ticketsales, from performances and from council and ArtsFirst grants. Their budget for 1997-98 was $5,000.

Some student groups rely on their ownmembership for financing. Student group leaderssay this can prove difficult for students onfinancial aid.

"Most of the funding comes from the studentswho participate," Saunders says. "[The Mock TrialTeam and Pre-Law Society] tries to raise our moneyfrom other sources, but so far we haven't beenable to."

At the end of the year the team assesses itsfinancial situation, and the team members each paya fraction of the expenses for the year.

Saunders questions this method and says theteam needs support from the University.

Saunders says he provides the funds for theteam from his own pocket, and other members laterreimburse him. He adds that sometimes studentsquit the team after attending the competition andincurring expenses but before paying their dues.

The World Model United Nations (WMUN) shiftsthe burden, drawing on fees paid by participantsto fund the conferences it organizes.

"Although money is tight, we do get by," saysJohs J. Pierce '00, WMUN leader. "I feel that theUniversity could lend more support to its studentgroups considering that they do so much inpromoting the University."

New Ways to Make Money

Both Epps, student group leaders and thecouncil are working to devise new ways ofproviding student groups with greater funds.

Epps suggests raising the termbill fees to $25to provide the council with more money to spend onstudent groups.

But Stewart says the council is not seriouslyconsidering this proposal and would prefer to tryother methods first.

"We will explore every other way possible," shesays.

Stewart says the council is looking intocreating an endowment and using the interest itwould generate to fund annual student groupexpenses. Almost all student groups are lookingfor alumni donations.

"I'd be more than happy to participate in anyeffort to get the University to give moreopportunities to student groups," Osofsky says.CrimsonRonald Y. Koo

The Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society(HSPDS) limits first-years to participation inthree competitions due to lack of funding.

Many student leaders fault the University--notthe council or their own methods offundraising--for the lack of money in studentorganizations.

University funding comes through four mainchannels. To receive these grants, groups must beofficially recognized by the College. TheUniversity spends about $1.2 million inunrestricted funds annually on student activities,according to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R.Knowles' January 26 letter to the Faculty.

Many students say each channel requires itsrecipients to comply with strict criteria, makingit difficult for some groups to qualify for anyUniversity funding at all.

Some suggest the University should change itspolicy and distribute funds through a singleoffice.

"If the University ran a centralized fundsupported with alumni donations they could solvethe problem," says Thomas G. Saunders '00,co-president of the Mock Trial Team and Pre-LawSociety, who manages the team's activities.

Saunders says he believes the University shouldbe more willing to financially support neworganizations. The Mock Trial team started twoyears ago.

"Whether it's the U.C. or some larger fund runby the University, there should be something tohelp those groups which are just getting off theground," Saunders said.

Where The Money Is

Currently, student leaders in search of fundinghave a complicated course to navigate.

The President's Public Service Fund Grantssupport undergraduate public service activities onand off campus. These grants are for "one-time,non-recurring special public service projects,"according to the Harvard College Handbook forStudent Organizations.

The Harvard Foundation for Intercultural andRace Relations (HFIRR) awards more than 40 grantseach semester to student groups that "facilitatethe understanding and sharing of racial and ethnicperspective," according to the handbook.

There are also other types of foundations, someof which are endowed.

The Office for the Arts provides grants toundergraduates, graduate students, faculty andstaff for new artistic projects. A committee ofthe Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), theHarvard Council on the Arts, awards grants "toencourage undergraduates' own original creativework," states in the Handbook.

In addition to these established foundations,Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III says hisoffice has $8,000 to distribute to student groups.

He says he provides this money to groups on a"case by case" basis at "his own discretion." Eppsadds that he uses this money mainly for peertraining groups, women's leadership groups andgroups concerned with security issues.

Cash from the Council

The Undergraduate Council is also a source offunding for student groups, and many studentleaders praise the council's attempts to almostsingle-handedly finance student organizations.

But they say without University support councilgrants cover minimal percentages of student groupbudgets.

"The U.C. has been extremely generous to us intheir grants," says Daniel L. Tobey '99, treasurerof HSPDS. "But a generous U.C. grant only covers asmall fraction of our expenses."

The council awarded $1,000 to the team lastyear, according to council records.

Some of the funding for student groups comesdirectly from the student body. Students have theoption of paying a $20 student activity fee ontheir term bills, and some of the money collectedfrom this goes to student group grants.

For the 1997-1998 year the council received$126,500 from termbill fees and spent $104,693.84on student groups.

"Every student group fills out an applicationlisting their expected need and their budget forthat year," expkains council President Beth A.Stewart '99.

The council awards two different kinds ofgrants to students. One type, the "project-basedgrant," funds a specific activity that a groupchoses to undertake.

The council gave project-based grants to sixdifferent groups last year.

Student groups that have no funds remaining bythe end of the year can apply for a general grant.Last year 117 groups applied for these grants, and110 received them.

Some student leaders also praised the council'said in cost-cutting. The council is currentlyexploring a plan to loan out College-owned vansfor student group use.

Arrested Development?

Many groups also receive funding from theiralumni in the form of endowments or help onparticular projects.

But these forms of funding fail to financiallysupport many student organizations.

"We are underfunded," says Justin Osofsky '99,president of HSPDS. "Generally the University haddeclined [our requests for funding]. It uses theU.C. for this."

In addition to grants from the council, theteam judges at high school debate tournaments toraise money.

Osofsky adds that other schools have greaterfunds for their debating teams.

"Most other schools receive some level ofuniversity funding," Osofsky says.

He says the Harvard team's lack of funds putsit at a disadvantage in comparison with other,more heavily funded university teams.

"The unfortunate thing about student groups isthat it really does hurt a team [not to receivefunding from the university]," Osofsky says."Other schools gain a competitive advantage overus."

Tobey, the group's treasurer, says althoughHarvard's debate team is one of the best in thenation, it could attend many more tournaments ifthe University helped to fund the team.

"We could be doing so much more and making agood name for the University but we don't have themoney," he says.

Student leaders of D&D say they feel similarlyconstrained by finances.

Due to its debt, D&D is unable to print enoughcopies of the magazine to distribute one to eachdoor. Chong says D&D is usually 28 pages, but theeditors had to reduce the size of this year'sfirst edition to 24 pages because they did nothave the funds to publish the full number ofpages.

D&D earns revenues from advertising in itspages, ticket sales to movies that the groupsponsors in the Science Center and grants from theUndergraduate Council and the HFIRR.

"Ideally our magazine would be able to functionon its own but we're not at that point yet," Chongsaid. "Our business department is having a reallytough time."

The Bach Society Orchestra (BSO) has also hadto modify its goals due to financial restrictions.

"I've had to say `No, we can't play that piece,because we don't have the money to play that,"says BSO General Manager Elizabeth K. Ridlington'99, explaining that the rights to music writtenafter 1900 cost more.

"I'd like to know that there's something comingfrom the College," she says. "It would be nice toknow that there's a back-up system."

The BSO currently operates on money from ticketsales, from performances and from council and ArtsFirst grants. Their budget for 1997-98 was $5,000.

Some student groups rely on their ownmembership for financing. Student group leaderssay this can prove difficult for students onfinancial aid.

"Most of the funding comes from the studentswho participate," Saunders says. "[The Mock TrialTeam and Pre-Law Society] tries to raise our moneyfrom other sources, but so far we haven't beenable to."

At the end of the year the team assesses itsfinancial situation, and the team members each paya fraction of the expenses for the year.

Saunders questions this method and says theteam needs support from the University.

Saunders says he provides the funds for theteam from his own pocket, and other members laterreimburse him. He adds that sometimes studentsquit the team after attending the competition andincurring expenses but before paying their dues.

The World Model United Nations (WMUN) shiftsthe burden, drawing on fees paid by participantsto fund the conferences it organizes.

"Although money is tight, we do get by," saysJohs J. Pierce '00, WMUN leader. "I feel that theUniversity could lend more support to its studentgroups considering that they do so much inpromoting the University."

New Ways to Make Money

Both Epps, student group leaders and thecouncil are working to devise new ways ofproviding student groups with greater funds.

Epps suggests raising the termbill fees to $25to provide the council with more money to spend onstudent groups.

But Stewart says the council is not seriouslyconsidering this proposal and would prefer to tryother methods first.

"We will explore every other way possible," shesays.

Stewart says the council is looking intocreating an endowment and using the interest itwould generate to fund annual student groupexpenses. Almost all student groups are lookingfor alumni donations.

"I'd be more than happy to participate in anyeffort to get the University to give moreopportunities to student groups," Osofsky says.CrimsonRonald Y. Koo