According to Goffard, Faust was “more receptive” to the idea of a term bill increase than to the proposal of direct University funding.
Yet Mayopoulos said that that Harvard “should bear a significant amount of the cost of extracurriculars” on campus.
“If an increase in the term bill is necessary, this increase will be matched by the University so that students are not alone in this,” he said.
The meeting with Faust was a key step in the Council’s efforts to raise additional funds for student activities.
UC leaders had announced in early February that the Council would request an additional $250,000 in funding from the University. The group’s budget is a little less than $500,000 for the 2013-2014 academic year, but it is funded by an undergraduate term bill fee that has remained unchanged since 2006. The dialogue with Faust came a day after the University announced they had received their single greatest donation of $150 million from Kenneth C. Griffin ’89.
Prior to discussing funding with Faust, members of the UC held a rally outside Massachusetts Hall. The rally, which was advertised throughout the week via posters and Facebook posts, attracted a crowd of roughly 100 students.
Standing on a small platform, Mayopoulos spoke briefly about the importance of mitigating financial concerns for undergraduates in student organizations and then invited leaders from various student groups such as Drug & Alcohol Peer Advisors, the Chinese Students Association, and the Harvard Black Men’s Forum to speak about what additional funding would enable them to do.
Following his address, he distributed thick toilet paper, which had been an initiative in his campaign with former UC presidential candidate Samuel B. Clark '15 in the fall, with the words “UC 250k” written across the paper squares.
Looking ahead, Goffard and Mayopoulos expressed optimism about future efforts to increase funding and enhance the relationship between students and the UC. The pair said that the next step is to schedule meetings with Smith and Pfister, who said Wednesday that although the specific methods of acquiring the funding need to be worked out, “it makes sense” that the Council receive more resources to fund student groups.
Goffard and Mayopoulos also stressed the importance of student activism and highlighted the number of students who attended the rally prior to the meeting and voiced their concerns about what they want.
“This was not a failure,” Mayopoulos said. “This was a great day because students gathered outside Mass. Hall and were very open about what they want from the administration.”
—Staff writer Noah J. Delwiche can be reached at noah.delwiche@thecrimson.com.
This article has been revised to reflect the following corrections:
CORRECTION: Feb. 20, 2014
An earlier version of the headline accompanying this article mischaracterized University President Drew G. Faust's reaction to the Undergraduate Council's proposal. An earlier version of the article also incorrectly stated the year in which the last term bill increase occured. In fact, it was in 2006.