Pinching Pennies

Other House Committees, however, get less from the same sources.

Kirkland Treasurer Christopher W. Cox '02 says his House Committee makes about $5,000 every year--enough for their Holiday dinner and dance, and to fund their House formals (which are money-losers for Houses across the board), but the number is substantially less than some other Houses.

A number of House Committees would not say how much money they took in each year. But many, such as Eliot House Committee, said they brought in more than $10,000.

Some Houses take in considerably less revenue from House laundry machines--even though the machines are serviced by the same company.

Quincy House gets just 8.33 percent of laundry revenues each year, compared to Pforzheimer's 50 percent.

Many of the House Committee treasurers interviewed for this article were not sure exactly how they split laundry profits with the companies that ran the machines. Quincy House Treasurer Christopher P. Thornton '01 says that because House Committee members only hold office for one year, it's very difficult to make sure there is always someone who is on top of the finances.

Thornton knows that Quincy House gets a smaller cut of washing-machine revenue than other Houses, but says he doesn't know why.