It's All About Cash: Raising House Spirit

As lights twinkle on Christmas trees in campus dining halls and students dance the night away at winter formals, the campus is getting into the holiday spirit--thanks in large part to the work of the 12 house committees.

Dealing with as much as $25,000 each year, the committees sponsor dances, house spirit activities and capital improvements.

The houses vary considerably in how they handle all that money. Some collect formal dues from their residents; others don't have budgets at all.

"[The budget] is determined by tradition. Last year gives us a basis of what we spend," says Jason T. Peters '97, co-chair of the Kirkland House Committee. "There's no real formal budget because there's no way to tell how much money we take in or spend."

The potential weaknesses in the system were revealed less than a year ago when former Currier House treasurer Natalie J. Szekeres '97 was accused of embezzling $7,550 from that group.

She eventually agreed to return the money, but some at the time complained that the University does not adequately monitor student groups' finances, making it easy for students to steal.

In Currier, financial records were often hand-written, photocopied or simply checkmarked to signify a bill had been paid, sources said last year.

Although student groups have been required for seven years to submit an annual report to the College, house committee chairs previously interviewed by The Crimson said they are not audited by the University or house masters.

They in effect have free reign over spending, house committee officials have said.

The Currier House Committee was involved in another financial dispute last time, this time with Eliot House. Currier officials accused the Eliot House Committee of not paying their part of a joint intersession ski trip the two houses of organized.

Currier students took the dispute to the Office of the Dean of Students. The controversy was eventually resolved when Eliot agreed to pay Currier half the amount that house wanted.

In response to a series of incidents of financial mismanagement in College student groups, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III this fall instituted a mandatory training program for student treasurers.

"The financial seminars teach treasurers how to manage funds, be a part of the organization's planning process, and will offer accounting procedures to be instituted in the organization," Epps wrote in a September letter.

Starting next fall, all student organizations will be required to submit their annual financial reporters using the software program Quicken.

House committee officials say that they too are now being required to participate in the financial training sessions.

The Budgets

Undoubtedly, the house committees are dealing with a lot of money.

Eliot House, for instance, runs on a budget of $20,000 to $24,000 a year, according to Connie K. Chung '97, co-chair of the Eliot House Committee.

Some houses set annual budgets during their September meetings.

House committee officials say their budgets and dues systems are based on the practices of previous years' committees.

"It's tradition," says Matthew L. Ware '97, co-chair of Lowell House Committee. "We've just sort of inherited the structure."

"The budget as a whole is determined largely by looking at past year's records, and listening to the needs of Eliot residents," Chung wrote in an e-mail message. "We've managed to save/accumulate some money over the years."

Other house committees, though, do not have a formal budget.

"We just use [the money earned during the year] for the formal and other events," says Susan deRoberts '97, co-chair of the Mather House Committee. "We usually lose money on the formal."

Even decisions about how money is spent are different from house to house. In some houses, the committee members determine allocations.

In Leverett, for instance, voting is limited to the seven house committee members, according to chair Russel G. Perkins '97.

In others, including Winthrop and Eliot, all house residents can attend committee meetings and vote on the issues. Winthrop allows any resident who has attended three meetings to vote.

Eliot House residents recently rejected a proposal to limit voting to committee members.

House Committee chair Jason C. Grillo '97 said before the vote that the action was provoked by a battle between committee officers and residents to control house funds after some residents managed to allocate $800 for crew shells.

But house residents rejected the proposal.

"I like the pure democracy," Daniel J. Kolodner '97, who has been involved in a number of Eliot House activities, said before the vote.

Where the Money Comes From

The house committees each raise funds differently. Of the 13 undergraduate Houses, five charge dues, ranging from $10 to $35.

The dues at Cabot, Eliot, Kirkland, Lowell and Pforzheimer Houses are optional.

"We respect the fact that it's the individual student's decision whether or not they will pay house dues," Chung wrote.

But house committee officials say a majority of the house residents pay the dues.

"It depends a lot on the house," says Pforzheimer resident Cary B. Aarons '98. "All of the students [in Pforzheimer] seem to be really closely tied. No one has problems with paying dues."

Eliot House charges the highest dues at $35, followed by Pforzheimer at $20, Kirkland and Cabot at $15 and Lowell at $10. Eliot raised the house dues by $5 this year.

Peters estimates that 80 percent of the residents in Kirkland pay their dues.

More than 220 people paid dues by Nov. 15, after which the dues increased to $40 per person, he says.

Ware estimates that more than 50 percent of Lowell residents have paid dues. But he says it's not easy.

"It's a great logistical headache to charge dues in the first place," Ware says. "Eventually we end up going door-to-door.

The houses which charge dues, in addition to door-to-door solicitation, give incentives to the residents who pay. Eliot House gives out free t-shirts.

In Kirkland House, residents must pay dues in order to participate in certain activities such as Secret Santas.

"Once they pay, they're in for everything--it's pretty cool," says Winthrop resident Jeannette Y. Louh '99 of students who live in houses which charge dues. "It's just like buying all your tickets at once."

But other students say they don't approve of the inequity of dues in the houses.

"I think that part is unfair," says John J. Cho '99, a Cabot House resident. "Certain students shouldn't be subjected to paying dues. Since we have randomization, we didn't choose what house to be in."

Some house officials say they wouldn't want to deal with the solicitation of the money.

"The problem that I have with [dues] is that I wouldn't feel it's very good if [residents] don't take advantage of the activities the House Committee puts on," says deRoberts. "I wouldn't feel comfortable asking people to put money in." All houses receive a portion of the profits earned from soda machines, laundry machines, snack machines and video games in the houses. However, most of the houses also rely on other sources of income for fundraising.

According to Chung, Eliot raises money by holding a Dutch Auction in which students buy and sell services ranging from message to golf lessons to babysitting.

Mather House plans to show a movie in the Science Center and a casino night in the house to raise funds this year, deRoberts says.

Jocelyn M. Kiley '97, co-chair of the Currier House Committee, says that house has a steady income from renting the linen depot to Harvard Student Agencies.

The Role of the U.C.

For the last two years, the Undergraduate Council has allocated a $500 block grant to each house, according to council presidentelect Lamelle D. Rawlins '99. At the end of the year, houses submit receipts and can be reimbursed up to that amount.

But that allocation is not part of the council's constitution.

"Right now, there's nothing that prevents the U.C. from providing no money to house committees," says Rawlins.

Students can currently vote on-line on a referendum that would require that 5 percent of the council budget--or about $500 per house--be allocated for house committees in the future. Voting ends at 5 p.m. today.

The council's budget is usually around $120,000, meaning that each house would a share of the $6,000, Rawlins says.

If the referendum passes, "house committees can be assured that the U.C. will support them financially," says Rawlins, who is currently vice president of the council and spearheaded the referendum effort.

Some students argue that increased funding from the Undergraduate Council could eliminate house dues.

"You don't want to charge dues for living in houses. That's what the U.C. term bill is for," says Eric D. Albert '97, an Adams House resident. "We pay $30,000 to go here; we shouldn't have to pay more so the house committee can do what it is supposed to do. If they have to charge dues that means that they're not getting enough money from the U.C."

He adds that he believes the council referendum should pass.

Where the Money Goes

Most houses hold two formals annually, which are often the most costly events funded by the house committees, officials say.

In fact, house committee officials say they lose money on the formals more often than they make money or break even even though students can pay upwards of $20 on tickets.

Lowell House also spends its funds on a Christmas tree, satellite television, capital improvements and student group activities in the house, according to Ware.

The Kirkland House Committee allocates its spending between three major categories -- capital improvements, social events and support of house organizations.

This year, the house committee is considering the purchase of a big screen television, Peters says. Social events include the winter and spring formals and the Stein Club.

Pforzheimer House holds a tree trimming and study breaks, funded by the house committee, says Pforzheimer House resident Francis J. Alenghat '97.

Pforzheimer House has also allocated a significant portion of its budget to the creation of a video library, Rawlins says.

Winthrop House funds an annual debauchery as well as study breaks, Louh says.

A spring 1993 Crimson survey showed that an overwhelming majority of Harvard students are satisfied with their house committees.

Approximately 71 percent of the 290 sophomores, juniors and seniors surveyed said their house committee "works fine."

But Rawlins says that more money, which the ongoing referendum would provide, can only help.

"More support for house committees can only serve to help our ailing campus social life," she says.