Incompetence Rules at PBH

I am writing to disagree with the claims made by Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) President Vin Pan "95-'96 in the December 11 story on the Harvard Republican Club's (HRC) opposition to PBHA's autonomy. In the article, Pan states that "there are adequate systems in place regarding fiscal responsibility. Enough to satisfy all regulators." As a former committee chair at PBHA, I would like to point out only some of the egregiously lackadaisical policies regarding the reimbursement of committee chairs and volunteers. The failure to create a sound system for the disbursement of funds is an exemplary reason why an autonomous PBH would only exacerbate existing waste, fraud, and mismanagement.

The apparatus for the disbursement of funds at PBHA is susceptible to fraud because of the absence of oversight. Committee chairs spend their own money on programming and are then reimbursed by submitting receipts to the treasurer. The treasurer, without question, writes a check in the amount of the receipt to the individual who submitted it. This system makes fraud incredibly easy. I know of cases in which individuals submitted receipts for private purchases and were reimbursed without inquiry. This should not be shocking. The embezzlement of thousands of dollars by Charles K. Lee '93 from "An Evening with Champions" reminds us that such miserably inadequate oversight is an invitation to such criminal activities.

The argument for autonomy presupposes that PBHA can run its own affairs without the Administration looking over its shoulder. How soon we forget that PBHA is swimming in its won internal failure. Stories of lack-adaisical driving certification requirements, multiple automobile accidents, students driving without authorization and the actions of Harvetta Nero '96 have frequented the front pages of this newspaper over the last two years. These repeated incidents severely question whether Executive Director Greg Johnson's personal relationships with PBHA's student leaders make him incapable of playing the inherently antagonistic role of administrative overseer. Clearly, PBHA has not demonstrated that it has the structural safeguards necessary to ensure that it will act competently on its own.

As former President of the Harvard-Radcliffe College Democrats and one who has fought for progressive causes during my entire Harvard career, it is only with great reluctance that I agree with a resolution passed by a group as revoltingly unenlightened as the HRC. Yet I am utterly convinced from my experience that PBHA autonomy has no merits until these major deficiencies are remedied. --Derek T. Ho '96