Debate continues over SAC's 'Red and Blue' cuts

University officials continue to probe into the Student Activity Council's decision to permanently deny funding to The Red and Blue. But members of the magazine's editorial board said they are not satisfied with the administration's response to the controversy so far. SAC Steering Committee Chairperson Richard Chow, a Wharton senior, has been working to clarify the guidelines used to decide whether an organization may be funded by SAC, Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said. She added that Chow's goal is to have the revised guidelines ready for presentation at the next SAC meeting on March 28. Chow was unavailable for comment last night. The Red and Blue Editor-in-Chief Christopher Robbins, a College junior, said the University has not dealt well with the SAC decision or the destruction of The Red and Blue's archives last month. "I don't think they've handled it so far," he said. "I'm glad President Rodin has come out the way she has. [But] the University has yet to even apologize for the destruction of The Red and Blue's archives." Robbins added that the magazine has not decided whether it will reapply for funding under the revised guidelines when they are released by SAC. Currently, SAC bylaws prohibit funding any organization that has an overtly political agenda. When SAC permanently denied funding to The Red and Blue last month, many SAC representatives said the conservative slant of recent articles in the magazine made the publication political. But debate during and immediately following the vote demonstrated the ambiguity of the current guidelines and the definition of "political," with supporters of The Red and Blue arguing that the magazine should not be denied funding on political grounds. As a result, University President Judith Rodin asked McCoullum to work with student government leaders to clarify and revise the funding guidelines and procedures. But Robbins said he doubted that any revisions would lead to an unbiased judgement of the magazine's political nature. "Unless SAC's officers and [the] administration from the VPUL's office are overhauled, we have little confidence there can be an honest re-evaluation of the body," he said. He said The Red and Blue is now seeking "plain old-fashioned even-handedness" from SAC. The magazine has retained a public interest law firm, the Individual Rights Foundation, to represent it in dealings with the University, according to a press release from the IRF. The Los Angeles-based firm will represent The Red and Blue free of charge. The controversy has received attention from national media, including radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern, according to Robbins. Robbins also said he has received almost 100 letters of support and checks from people around the country. Daily Pennsylvanian Staff Writer Jorie Green contributed to this article.

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