College Cancels $50,000 Grant Funding Student Group Travel

UPDATED: March 28, 2018 at 12:20 a.m.

The Office of Student Life chose not to renew a $50,000 grant largely dedicated to funding student group travel this year, leading to financial uncertainty for some campus organizations.

All student groups in good standing, as well as individual students traveling to academic conferences, were formerly eligible to apply for the travel grant, called “The Dean of Harvard College Student Life Fund.” Administrators have also used the fund to support House Committees in the past.

According to Currier House Representative Amanda Flores ’20, the Office of Student Life never informed student organizations of the travel grant’s expiration. Some student groups had already spent money on travel this year under the expectation the fund would be renewed.

“The Office of Student Life didn’t do anything to tell groups that this would no longer be offered,” Flores said.

Associate Dean of Student Engagement Alex R. Miller wrote in an emailed statement that the program is currently under review.

“The Office of Student Life travel grant fund... has been successful in many areas, [but] there have also been unfortunate instances in which funding was misused,” Miller wrote. “This has caused us to take a thoughtful, yet thorough review of the process for allocation and distribution of the grant, which is currently underway.”

Office of Student Life spokesperson Aaron Goldman did not directly respond to a question asking about the specific incidents that led to the decision to review the fund.

Before the fund’s cancellation this year, student leaders and College officials jointly administered the money. According to the most recent guidelines posted on the Office of Student Life website, those guiding the fund prioritized travel “aligned with the College’s mission to support experiences that foster intellectual, social, and personal transformation.”

Harvard has offered this fund since at least 2013, though in that year the grant totaled only $20,000. In 2014, the College agreed to offer an additional $30,000 for domestic student group travel in response to recommendations issued by a working group. The working group formed that same year after an undergraduate died in a car crash while returning to campus from a mock trial competition.

The Undergraduate Council failed to pass legislation at its Sunday meeting to provide $6,000 in reimbursements for student groups that had already spent money on travel. At the meeting, some representatives said they were concerned allocating UC funds for student group travel could render the Council liable to legal threats should students experience accidents while traveling on the UC’s dime.

Flores, a member of the cheerleading club who co-sponsored the legislation, said Sunday the cut in travel funding could force her club to make budget cuts.

“We usually get about $2,000 to help us pay for nationals, so you know, that’s a big chunk of our budget missing,” Flores said. “Probably we won’t be able to do stuff in the future because of that.”

In recommending adding more money to the travel fund in 2014, the working group wrote they worried student groups’ desire to avoid high travel costs could jeopardize undergraduates’ safety while traveling. Now, some undergraduates say the College’s cancellation of the travel fund means student groups will be forced to make exactly the kind of financial calculations the College sought to render unnecessary in 2014.

Kevin C. Fei ’19, treasurer of Harvard Ballroom, said the group wanted to travel by bus to a recent competition, but was unable to do so without the travel grant.

“We had to rent a bunch of cars, which is less safe and less desirable for everyone,” Fei said.

UC Treasurer Nadine M. Khoury ’20, who also co-sponsored the failed legislation, said “multiple” students have approached her asking about the termination of the travel fund.

“There are many people that are personally in debt,” Khoury said. “This is a really big thing for financial accessibility for people who just cannot afford to go on these trips.”

In an interview Monday, Khoury said the Finance Committee usually helps to publicize the existence of the fund to student groups in November after receiving word from the Office of Student Life. This year, though, the committee did not hear anything about the fund from the office, according to Khoury.

Multiple members of the UC Executive Committee declared their intention to push the Office of Student Life to reinstate funding for the travel grant.

“I advocated at every meeting I could to bring back the grant because I think it’s very important to student life,” UC Vice President Nicholas D. Boucher ’19 said.

College spokesperson Goldman did not directly respond to a question asking whether Harvard plans to renew the travel grant in the future.

“The College recognizes the importance of a thriving student organization community,” Miller wrote. “We hope that students will take part in student organization travel activities that are safe and aligned with University policies.”

“We look forward to providing an update on the status of the funds in the near future,” he added.

—Staff writer Jonah S. Berger can be reached at jonah.berger@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonahberger98.