ASPC President Richard Park ’00 and Environment Affairs Commissioner Aaron Ginoza ’02 recently attended a student government seminar at Haverford College, joining representatives from the student governments from several other liberal arts colleges such as Wesleyan, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Connecticut College, and University of the South at Sewannee.

The Pomona representatives at the conference came away feeling that Pomona compared very favorably with other small liberal arts colleges. Park and Ginoza spent their time talking with other students, finding out what special challenges they face, and seeing how they operate their student governments. Park felt that discovering how other student leaders do things "was the best part of the conference."

Among the many issues discussed at the conference was that of funding. Most student governments draw their funds from the student fees that each student is required to pay. Park and Ginoza found that Pomona’s student fee, at $250, was the highest of all the schools present at the colleges. This meant that the ASPC of Pomona has more money with which they can work, allowing them to sponsor more programming and events for students.

Park and Ginoza found that the CCLA at Pomona College gets, "a lot more, by far," than do the comparable organizations at other colleges. This extra funding allows CCLA to have regular parties and sponsor other campus-wide events.

In addition to school-sponsored parties, Pomona students have access to fraternity parties. Many of the other small liberal colleges that attended the conference do not have fraternities on campus, which limits social outlets on campus. The students at these colleges without fraternities are forced to rely on the parties provided by either private individuals or those funded by the student government organization, which usually has limited funds.

Pomona fraternities have not been able to throw as many parties this year as they have in previous years due to the new alcohol policy, which prohibits them from charging for parties where alcohol is provided. Many fraternities feel financially threatened now that this source of revenue has been eliminated.

However, there is a meeting of the Student Affairs Committee today that will discuss the possibility of fraternities being able to use money from the alcohol fund. This meeting is planned as an open forum. This forum was described by Park as "a big move in the other direction; frats may be able to play a larger role in social life on campus."

Haverford’s student government only throws dry parties; Washington University in Saint Louis is allowed to have beer, but their student government must pay an additional keg fee that is used to purchase nonalcoholic beverages and snacks. The social environment at Washington University is entirely determined by students.

Their student government is allotted one percent of all tuition payments and is guaranteed a budget of at least one million dollars. Karen Coburn, the Dean of Student Life at Washington University, describes the social life as a mix between parties on fraternity row, private parties, and campus-wide activities. She said that there tend to be a lot in the fall and spring but not too many in the winter.

On the other end of the spectrum is Barnard College. The student government is funded through a mandatory student fee, but Dean of Students Dorothy Denburg remarked that "There aren’t any parties at Barnard."

Another issue is providing the student body with a space in which they can hold parties. Pomona has many, such as the social rooms, the Wash, and Grooveline. Some of the schools at the conference, such as Haverford and Bryn Mawr, have no such spaces, and are currently discussing building "party barns" in which all campus parties would take place.

Amherst College in Massachusetts has one of the highest student fees, at $300. This fee is channeled to 81 different campus organizations. Ben Lieber, Dean of Students at Amherst, considers the relationship between the administration and student government to be a good one. This could be due in part to the autonomy which Amherst organizations are given. A faculty advisor does not sit in on weekly student government meetings as they do at many other colleges.

Park remarked that, "None of these colleges [at the conference] seemed to have as active of a social scene as Pomona. Even though people complain, I think we’re doing okay." In addition to differences in the social scene at various colleges, the students attending the conference also discussed their relationships with the administrations of their respective schools. Park felt that, "Pomona has as good relations as anyone. The student governments at Haverford and University of the South also have strong relations with their administrations, but other schools saw the student government as unimportant. "In all respects, from resources to social life to ability to implement programs, Pomona students have it best. "We’re dealing with detail problems, while others are still working on the big issues," Park concluded.

Haverford College made this trip possible through the generous travel and housing allowances.