SAC re-recognizes 'Red and Blue'

The Student Activities Council re-recognized The Red and Blue at its meeting Tuesday night after adopting a revised set of guidelines for funding political organizations. This means that the magazine can once again pursue SAC funding. But a vote on whether to grant The Red and Blue's funding request of $11,094 did not come to the floor, because less than two-thirds of the body voted in favor of hearing the magazine's plea. Also, SAC elected a new Steering Committee -- and voted against giving Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella a seat on it. Re-recognition of The Red and Blue was not originally slated for Tuesday night's agenda. But early in the meeting, Student Life Assistant Director Scott Reikofski criticized the body's recent decision to permanently deny funding to the magazine. "Power without responsibility leads to abuse of everybody's rights," he said in an address to the body. "If one group's freedom is restricted, nothing is to stop that from happening to your group as well." The body passed amendments to the SAC constitution that clarified the definition of "political" for funding purposes. In the aftermath of The Red and Blue's loss of full recognition, University President Judith Rodin had asked SAC Steering Committee Chairperson Richard Chow, a Wharton senior, to revise the funding guidelines. The new guidelines prohibit the body from making funding determinations on the basis of "the content of the speech or expression of such organization." Student groups that advocate a particular political party or candidate, that seek to influence legislation, or that promote religious ideologies will still not be considered eligible for funding. The body granted full recognition to the Undergraduate Economics Society, Without a Net, Phi Beta Lambda, the Student National Medical Association, the John Marshall Pre-Law Society and the Penn Transfer Organization before the results of the vote on the amendments were known. And, at the end of the Steering portion of the meeting, Thor Halvorssen, a Red and Blue spokesperson and a College junior, moved that the body re-recognize the magazine and grant its original request of $11,094. Re-recognition required a two-thirds majority to pass. After a short debate, the body voted overwhelmingly in favor of restoring The Red and Blue's funding eligibility. But because the magazine had not been able to submit a budget request to the SAC Finance Committee before the meeting, a two-thirds majority vote was also required for the body to even deliberate on whether or not to give The Red and Blue any money. Several SAC leaders, including Finance Committee Chairperson David Shapiro, a College and Wharton sophomore, told the body that restoring The Red and Blue's funding eligibility did not necessarily obligate SAC to fund the magazine. Shortly thereafter, the motion by Debicella to vote on deliberating the magazine's funding request failed to reach the required two-thirds majority. Among those elected to the new SAC Steering Committee were College sophomore Angine Harriott, College junior Norm Hetrick, College junior Graham Robinson and College junior Jon Teitel.

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