Harvard Undergraduate Association Funds Halloween Movie Night, Harvard-Yale Merch | News

The Harvard Undergraduate Association approved five proposals at its annual general meeting Tuesday night, including funding a Halloween movie night and Harvard-Yale merchandise before the 140th performance of “The Game.”

The HUA provided $2,000 to fund a Halloween movie night on the Quad Lawn, co-hosted by the HUA, Cabot House and the Dean of Students Office. Adirika said Cabot House traditionally hosts a movie night on Halloween, but this year HUA wanted to expand the event and make it accessible to students from all houses.

The HUA also provided $1,000 toward the purchase of Harvard merchandise, which the HUA will distribute free to students before this year’s Harvard-Yale football game on November 23rd. Adirika said the HUA held a similar merchandise raffle in 2022, when The Game was last played at Harvard Stadium.

“There was a lot of demand and the students really enjoyed it,” Adirika said.

HUA’s Inclusion Team and Wellbeing Team each received $1,500 to fund the Helping Hands Fund, a grant specifically designed for initiatives related to inclusion and well-being.

“There were a lot of clubs that used the fund,” Adirika said. “From an inclusion and equity perspective, I think it’s important to have opportunities like this for student governments that specifically focus on inclusion and wellness in their programming.”

During the meeting, HUA’s Social Life Team also received funding to support HUA’s Crimson Cohesion Fund and Fun Fund.

The Social Life team received $3,500 to fund the Cohesion Fund, which is intended for student organizations that host events for 200 or more students.

“The whole purpose of this fund — which has existed in the past — is to give students the opportunity to have those meaningful connections and meet new people outside of class and have these different spaces to socialize and have fun said Tsion A. Daniel ’27, who serves as HUA’s social life team representative.

HUA also provided $2,000 to the Social Life Team’s “Fun Fund,” which allows groups of three to 10 students to participate in a subsidized field trip valued at up to $15 per person.

“It’s a first come, first served basis,” Daniel said.

Adirika and HUA Co-President Jonathan Haileselassie ’26 also announced that they met with Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hopi E. Hoekstra to discuss the university’s search for a successor to dean of Harvard College , Rakesh Khurana, who will retire at the end of 2024 -25 academic year.

Adirika said she and Hailesellassie had a “wonderful conversation about how we can work with FAS” in the search for a dean of the college.

“Dean Hoekstra is truly interested in understanding students’ perspectives on this topic,” Adirika added.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.

—Staff writer Adithya V. Madduri can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @adithyavmadduri.