Glee Club Asia Tour Faces Budget Deficit; May Seek Bank Loan

The Harvard Glee Club may be forced to seek a commercial loan, possibly as large as $18,000, to finance a tour of nine Asian and European countries with the Radcliffe Choral Society this summer.

So far only $51,000 of the $126,000 required for the tour has been raised.

Edwin M. Goodhue '67, manager of the Asia Tour, said yesterday that a decision on whether to request the loan or cancel the tour entirely would not be made until January. The final decision will depend on how large a loan would be needed to cover the deficit, he added.

Goodhue said he would meet with the Glee Club Foundation later this month to discuss the proposed loan. The Foundation, made up of Glee Club alumni, would have to guarantee any loan because of laws prohibiting undergraduate organizations from commercial borrowing.

The Glee Club expected to receive $50,000 from parents of the 79 Harvard and Radcliffe students going on the tour -- an average contribution of $650 per student. Goodhue stressed that this would not be a minimum required contribution "because it would discriminate against people on scholarships."

Goodhue also hoped to raise $5000 from a solicitation sent to Glee Club alumni ten days ago, and an additional $2000 from another solicitation in mid-November.

In addition Goodhue suggested that two or three individuals might be persuaded to make large contributions which could be taken as tax deductions over a number of years