But this measure proved both temporary and insufficient.

Other financial support to PBHA included $20,000 from several endowments, some individual donations and one federal government grant.

The majority of this money, however, was earmarked to go only to specific committees, which meant that very little of the money could be used for central administrative costs.

As a result, the $20,000 subsidy the Faculty originally intended as an emergency measure had to be renewed for each of the next three years.

The organization also suffered a marked drop in the number of student volunteers. Membership, which increased throughout the 1960s to a high of 1,047 in 1968, dropped to only 382 students in 1969.

Although a public perception that PBHA was not radical enough to suit the times was a large reason for the drop in membership, a financial crunch that led to the elimination of five programs before the 1970-1971 school year also played a role in its decline.

A Crisis Year

In 1970, a proposed phase-out of the $20,000 Faculty subsidy put nearly a dozen PBHA programs in jeopardy.

In addition, a $20,000 cutback in maintenance costs forced PBHA members to close the building on weekends and to eliminate its evening hours.

Students were concerned the cutbacks would spell the end of the then-70-year-old organization.

"Closing the building at 5 p.m. would be tantamount to closing most of what goes on in the house," PBHA graduate secretary Barry O'Connell '65 said at the time.

Students say that even programs that were thriving felt the constraints of the financial crisis.

"We really built something exciting; our program seemed to have some standout results, but there was constant financial pressure," says Burton E. Rosenthal '72, who was a member of the Columbia Point summer program.

In the fall of 1970, nearly 200 first-years were denied PBHA membership, primarily because there was not enough space within existing programs.

Clearly the group was saved--but not without a struggle.