UC Receives 15 ‘Harvard Project’ Submissions

The Undergraduate Council Student Initiatives Committee received 15 entries to its newly formed grant program rewarding student initiatives after it extended the submission deadline to Sunday night, according to the committee’s co-chairs Daniel V. Banks ’17 and Shaiba Rather ’17.

The program, called the Harvard Project, is a Council-wide effort to reward initiatives that bolster student life and was first discussed at the UC’s general meeting last week. The project will award $3,000 to the winning student initiative in order to help out with execution in its initial stages.

According to Banks and Rather, submissions include a student-run alternative kitchen, a sustainable laundry solution, and a program to help students connect over the summer. Generally, the submissions are mostly under the categories of improving mental health, sustainability, and inclusivity.

Legislation that passed last week endorsing the project outlined the terms of the project and encouraged students to find solutions to student life issues, saying that “to say Harvard is perfect would be to undermine our capacity and potential for change.”

“It's been really promising to see how willing student are to engage in their community,” Banks and Rather wrote in an email. “ The Student Initiatives Committee is thrilled to help tackle these matters alongside proactive students.”

Three out of the fifteen proposals will be chosen as finalists on April 7 and will participate in a Council-sponsored innovation fair from April 14 to April 17.

—Staff writer Jalin P. Cunningham can be reached at jalin.cunningham@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @JalinCunningham.