Take It to the House

The funding gods must be smiling on undergraduate social life this month. Two weeks ago, College administrators agreed to channel $200,000 toward the nascent College Events Board’s inaugural budget. Now the Undergraduate Council (UC) is expected to consider a constitutional amendment that would automatically fund House Committees (HoCos) at the beginning of each semester. This latest measure will allow HoCos greater financial certainty and enable long term planning, resulting in more vibrant House life. We strongly urge the UC to pass such an amendment.

Improving the funding system will put HoCos on more stable financial ground and increase the possibilities for creative House events. Activities and events organized by HoCos—formals, stein clubs, mega-parties, inter- and intra-house competitions—constitute the core of undergraduate social life. By guaranteeing funding, the UC will demonstrate solidarity with HoCos and enable more ambitious undertakings that require significant up-front funding.

Huge HoCo projects such as this weekend’s Mather Lather demand large monetary investments from HoCo treasuries, and HoCos that are willing to put in the effort to improve campus life deserve reliable financial support from the UC. With the passage of this amendment, all HoCos will have the means to invest in truly bold initiatives that define the House experience and invigorate the undergraduate community.

With an extra $70,000 on its hands after the outsourcing of campus-wide events to the College Events Board, the UC can afford to guarantee and augment its contributions to HoCos. We hope that a constitutional amendment will commit the UC to allocating a certain percentage of the UC’s budget to HoCos each semester. The UC should take House size into account when making its awards to the various HoCos, though the distribution should not be exactly proportional to population; merely it must take into consideration that Quincy with its over 460 students needs to spend more than Currier with its approximately 350 students in order to provide equitable services.

The terms of the amendment may require HoCos to conform to certain standards before they receive UC funds. We endorse one condition unequivocally: the amendment should stipulate that HoCos must eliminate House dues. Predicating funding on this point is reasonable because the stated mission of HoCos is to unite House residents. Requiring students to pay out of pocket in order to join in regular House festivities such as happy hours is an unnecessarily divisive practice. Moreover, it is unreasonable for Houses to charge students for access to money that is theirs to begin with through termbill payments. Naturally, ticket costs for formals and special bashes should not be regarded as House dues; but students should have the option of opting into these events individually and not yoked to all-or-nothing deals.

Other proposed preconditions for receiving UC money are less palatable. For example, it has been suggested that only Houses that allow direct, House-wide elections of HoCo board members should receive the UC funds. Such a condition would represent unwarranted meddling into the internal business of the Houses. There is room for reasonable disagreement on the issue of how to elect HoCo leaders. It can be argued that only people who have attended HoCo meetings know who is capable of leading the group. On the other hand, direct House-wide elections have an instinctive democratic appeal. In any case, the UC should not dictate from above what electoral scheme a House should adopt and should leave it to Houses themselves to decide what electoral system best suits their desired ends.

HoCos are among the student groups that have the most effect on daily student life on this campus, and they deserve the unwavering financial backing of the UC. A constitutional amendment that takes House size into account while guaranteeing percentage-based semester funding for HoCos will open new doors for HoCos across campus. We look forward to increasingly bold initiatives from the HoCos, and we call on the College and the UC to offer their support to HoCos in an effort to promote student social life.