SAC Finance will reconsider funding criteria

U. officials push for change Student Activities Council Chairperson Richard Chow announced last night that SAC will reconsider its financial guidelines, as well as The Red and Blue's SAC status, in light of the recent debate and controversy surrounding the denial of funding for the magazine. After meeting with Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain Cade McCoullum, Associate VPUL Larry Moneta and Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Dan Debicella yesterday, Chow said he is willing to reevaluate the SAC Finance guidelines that deal with the funding of groups or activities of a religious or political nature. "We have to clarify what we define as political," said Chow, a College senior. "We need to make sure that something does get done." According to Chow, these changes will involve amending the guidelines to include criteria and information that will greater delineate the policy. In a statement issued shortly after yesterday's meeting, University President Judith Rodin said decisions on the funding of groups "cannot be based purely on the content of the organization's oral or written speech." And according to a statement made by McCoullum yesterday, SAC will immediately clarify its funding guidelines to make them consistent with the Code of Student Conduct and the Guidelines on Open Expression. "I believe that this University has a special, critically-important obligation to provide public forums where diverse viewpoints can be clearly voiced," she said. McCoullum added that SAC has agreed to reconsider its decision regarding The Red and Blue, should the magazine decide to reapply for funding. The Red and Blue's Editor-in-Chief and College junior Christopher Robbins would not comment as to whether the magazine would reapply for funding, saying he was "considering a number of options." Although SAC plans to make changes, Chow said the basic guidelines involving religious and political groups or activities will remain in tact. "You're opening yourself up if you choose to fund everybody," Chow said. "If you disregard everything, an extreme example could occur." For instance, Chow said, a Nazi or skinhead group could ask for funding -- a request that SAC would not want to honor. But Rodin said SAC funding should not be denied to groups "because of the content of their speech or the tenor of their ideas." Chow said Rodin's statement is not in conflict with the basic SAC guidelines preventing the funding of political or religious activity. "It is all consistent with the guidelines that were put out about open expression," he said. But PENNPals SAC representative and College junior Graham Robinson, who made the original motion to deny the magazine funding, said a Nazi publication should fall under the same basic standards as The Red and Blue. "I don't think there's any substantive difference between saying we're not going to fund a Nazi journal and what happened at Monday's SAC meeting," he said. Robinson added that he supports Rodin and Chow's plan but is "uneasy" about their decision. "I believe that free speech is guaranteed by never punishing a student or student group for expressing an opinion," he said. "However, the University and SAC are under no obligation to provide financial resources to make it easier for one group to express an opinion. "Those misgivings aside? at this point, the best resolution is to allow [the] agreement which will temporarily quiet this issue, though I have no doubt that it will explode again in the future," he added. Robbins responded to SAC's decision last night, saying he was pleased "an effort might finally be in the making to ensure fairness in funding." But he added that he still has "little confidence" in SAC. "Reason and precedent ask that we question the motives of this group, for it is the same group that on Monday set out to censor our publication," he said. Although the SAC Finance Committee made no recommendation on the issue of funding The Red and Blue at Monday's meeting, the body voted 47-21 with 35 abstentions to restrict the magazine's recognition and rescind all funding for the publication. Since the decision, two former SAC groups -- the Newman Council and PennWatch -- have withdrawn from the organization in protest. And PennWatch President and Wharton sophomore Jonathan Brightbill said he was "curious" as to why yesterday's meeting only involved SAC. "I'm sure [the administration's] intention all along has been to get all sides of the story," he said. "I am hoping they still plan to meet with us." Chow said he plans to distribute a statement regarding revisions to SAC Finance's guidelines at the next SAC meeting, scheduled for March 28. The new guidelines may not be fully ready for implementation at that time, however, because Chow said he hopes not to be "too hasty."