Recommendations on University Support for Student Leadership at Harvard

By Daniella Berrospi, Christopher Doyle, Chelsea Guo, Oliver Hirshland, Max Ingersoll, Marco Joven Domínguez, Laiba Khan, Eliana Lee, Talia Levitt, Harold Peon, North Peters,  Maya Simkowitz, Sophia Wang, and Athena Ye

Replacing Student Leadership Forum with individual or small group meetings

The student leadership forum is unpopular among student leaders and splitting it up into more targeted components could be beneficial.

• Workshops geared toward different industries, and clubs with similar missions (oftentimes, clubs that are characterized as “umbrella” organizations don’t receive or know of resources from the University)

  • Having discussions between student groups (open fireside chat with alumni, professionals, and DSO between effective strategies and working through problems) → each club has time to talk through problems they are facing/has time for Q&A with other student leaders and professionals at the University and in specified fields

  • Helping facilitate connections/friendships between student leaders of similar organizations/missions

    • This would create a support network where leaders could support and learn from each other and go to each other with questions

• Workshops (general, that would be beneficial for all) with guest speakers in organizational psychology/sociology, providing an overview of tips for running organizations 

• Marketing out specific SOCH resources, including the Hub better → e.g., SOCH provides for space/real estate for some smaller student clubs; however, many don’t know about it 

  • Online videos of previously held workshops or short Hub tutorials

An easy and accessible way to reach the DSO on a personal level throughout the school year. 

Rather than communicating through emails and official guidelines, it might be more beneficial to utilize ways in which we can talk genuinely and personally about individual needs during the school year. It’s still not clear to us as students how an organization can actually build a personal relationship with the DSO and utilize their resources. We mentioned individual and small group meetings in the points above; however, we would love to see these meetings continued throughout the semester. 

• One strategy that the URAF (Undergraduate Research Funding Office) and OCS (Office of Career Services) use is having open office hours every week. Perhaps the DSO can also utilize this in order to connect with student leaders without the inefficiency of back-and-forth emails!

Clearer Division of Labor / Decision Making Between Student Leaders and DSO

Who has the authority to do what?

There should be a clearer outline of the processes and possibilities for a constructive “partnership” with the DSO. Currently, student leaders are unclear of the formal pathways of reaching the DSO; student leaders would like further elucidation on the separation of authority: how much power do student leaders have in relation to the DSO in regards to a plethora of situations such as funding, events, and Trademark concerns regarding intellectual property? 

• Curating a list of guidelines that informs students about types of situations in which student leaders can or should reach out to the DSO for support. In addition, the list should  include contact information of DSO members so student leaders understand who to reach out to—since employees are often specialized on certain scenarios/topics—and a list of the type of resources provided by the DSO.

There are power dynamics between student leaders and staff in the DSO that should be established more explicitly. It is unclear as to when students can reach out to the DSO office and expect advice and action versus when student organizations are directed by the office without proper input from its own members

• Establishing a way for students to regularly give feedback anonymously about the DSO office handling different concerns. This should be viewed and discussed by DSO if they have office-wide meetings to implement improvements and address concerns. 

Transparency on Restrictions and Use of the Endowment

Though Harvard already publishes a thorough financial report at the end of every fiscal year that is available to the general public, it can be difficult for students to take in the complex way in which information is communicated. With recent changes to the student organization funding model, clarity on how much of these funds are used for student groups and student activities could ease concerns and increase confidence in the institution.

• Publishing a student-centric and succinct financial document that is geared toward transparency of available funds for student organizations

• Along with this document, creating a guide on the SOCH and DSO’s scope around student organizations and pathways in the College for student groups to get funding

• Elaboration on what student events are eligible for funding by the DSO and the SOCH, versus by other funding sources like the Harvard Foundation and the Harvard Undergraduate Association

Revision of Student Organization Funding under the HUA

With decreased funding to the HUA (when compared to its predecessor, the UC), many student organizations have been forced to adapt to significant cuts in their budget. This affects organizations whose focus is not on social events especially severely, as the HUA’s strict budget guidelines focused on social events leave them without a source for reliable institutional funding.

• Unique models of funding should be sought for unique organizations on Harvard’s campus, such as EMS, pre-professional groups, service branches, etc.

  • Providing clarity on how HUA-based funding is distributed among groups, and why funding is shared in its current, uncharitable manner

Transparency on Decisions and Seeking Student Input

Oftentimes, it can feel like big decisions are made by the University without a lot of clarity about who is making these decisions and why. We would love to see more clarity about when decisions like these are in discussion and inclusion of ways in which student voices could be heard.

• For example, there was a lot of confusion about the decision to restrict tailgates and alcohol at Harvard sponsored tailgate for Harvard v. Yale. It did not feel like there was a lot of explanation as to how and when this decision was made. Many students felt as if this policy encouraged unsafe binge-drinking and did not feel consulted.

• Creating a clear way for Harvard students to get involved in major changes or have their voices heard before such decisions are finalized could help improve decision making and ensure that decisions serve both the students and greater Harvard community.

• Ensuring that those students who are participating in Harvard’s attempts at incorporating student feedback are coming from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and organizations on campus

Additionally, it would be helpful for the DSO to communicate explicitly what its key metrics are for measuring the wellbeing of students. There is lots of rhetoric about making Harvard better for students, but it’s not clear how this is being done or what better means. Also in terms of students working with the DSO, to make student life better, this would help create a shared language which could help enable collaboration. 

Furthermore, asking the student body about how it defines wellbeing and what issues or factors are most important––and factoring these in to the DSO’s core metrics––could help us feel more included in this process as right now, some of us feel somewhat jaded, pessimistic, and alienated from these efforts.