In April, Dean of the College Archie C. Epps III told The Crimson "It's almost certain that we'll sign a 15-year lease...If conditions change, and everybody understands that, it's not that you back out of the lease...but we will find a place for the Advocate at Harvard."
According to Haggar, "the trustees didn't want to put money into the building when land might be taken away," so they waited until the lease was revised. Signed late in April, the 15-year agreement prevents the University from requiring the Advocate to relocate at any time during the lease.
On Apr. 10, the trustees helped to boost the organization's finances by soliciting contributions from alumni at a posh New York cocktail party. The event was attended by the likes of Robert Bly '50, Louis Begley '54, Norman K. Mailer '43, Conan C. O'Brien '85 and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. '38; alumni gave $50,000 to the Advocate.
Steven A. Ballmer '77, former Advocate publisher, member of the board of trustees and a former Crimson editor, matched the funds, bringing the total to about $100,000.
"Most of [the alumni] have a lot of happy memories," Haggar said. "Many of them went into business-oriented things. They look back and are happy to have been published. Some who did become writers remember it as the first place they were published."
Yet not everyone cited their literary experience at the Advocate as their most prominent memory.
"People remember the parties," Haggar added. "That's what Norman Mailer remembered."
But despite fond memories, Advocate executives said it was the students' innovative efforts that convinced alumni to contribute.
In addition to their financial reorganization, the students put on a benefit garden party in May to raise money for a new computer system and connection to the University's ethernet and key card access systems.
The garden party, in honor of Ballmer, featured readings by undergraduate authors.
"We wanted to give our writers some exposure," Haggar said. "Faber & Faber, a publishing firm, approached one of the readers and offered to give him advice."
Haggar does not predict increases in the Advocate's scale in future years, citing the importance of a small selective staff in maintaining the magazine's quality.
However, Haggar said she would like to see the Advocate in bookstores.
"That would be good money-wise, but more importantly would give us national exposure," Haggar said.
"This is the forum for literature here. We want people to see these up-and-coming authors," she added.