Harvard’s Student Activities Pool Doubles to $2.7 Million After Fee Becomes Mandatory

Harvard College will spend around $2.3 million on student groups, House Committees, and campus-wide programming this year — nearly double last year’s budget — after raising the Student Activities Fee by $250.

The College converted the SAF this year from an optional $200 annual payment into a mandatory $450 charge, bringing the total pool to $2.7 million, Associate Dean for Student Engagement Jason R. Meier confirmed in a Monday statement to The Crimson. That figure is more than double the nearly $1.3 million the fee raised last year.

Roughly $400,000 will cover the cost of laundry for all undergraduates, Meier estimated, leaving $2.3 million to be divided among the Harvard Undergraduate Association, the College Events Board, Harvard College Live, and House Committees.

When the College announced the changes last November, students questioned whether free laundry would offset the steeper fee. By the College’s laundry cost estimates, the average Harvard undergraduate spends about $58 a year on laundry — meaning students who already paid the SAF are spending roughly $190 more this year, accounting for the savings.

Meier declined to comment on the disparity.

Dean of Students Thomas G. Dunne said in an April interview that the College weighed laundromat costs, activities fees at peer institutions, and requests from student organizations before settling on a number that felt “right for us.”

“A good amount of that was based on what we see as the demand that we’re not able to meet,” Dunne said. “It wasn’t just solely about laundry. It was also: are we supporting these other initiatives in a way that’s appropriate for us, and how do we compare with similar institutions?”

Meier said he expects the larger pool to raise the quality of student programming. Last Friday’s Crimson Jam, the College’s annual back-to-school concert, was the first event to draw on the expanded budget.

“The expanded Student Activity Fee was instrumental in helping Harvard College Live create the best Crimson Jam I’ve seen in my time here,” Meier wrote, referring to the student organization that spun off from the CEB this year to run the College’s two major concerts.

“The increase in the SAF was able to assist us in being able to invest in both our headliner and enhanced production, like the laser lights and giveaways,” he added. “We’re grateful for the financial support from the SAF and were so happy to see students having such a great time on Friday.”

Dean of Harvard College David J. Deming wrote in his November email announcing the changes that the new structure would “streamline College student costs, provide a fairer and more sustainable funding source for student activities, and lead to a better overall student experience.”

Deming cited rising opt-out rates as a driving factor behind the switch to a mandatory fee, writing that the fluctuations had placed “increased budgetary pressure on student groups and house committees.” More than 900 students opted out in each of the past two years.

Hearings to allocate this year’s SAF pool will begin Sept. 18. Last year, the HUA received $606,000 of the nearly $1.3 million available and directed more than 85 percent of it to student organizations. The CEB received $450,000, and House Committees received $240,000.

—Staff writer Wyeth Renwick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @wzrenwick.

—Staff writer Claire L. Simon can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at csimon.13. Follow her on X @ClaireSimon.