University of Virginia Library

Council Asserts Authority
To Endorse Interest Groups

By LAURA HAMMEL

Asserting its authority to
grant endorsement to special
interest groups, Student
Council late Tuesday night
defeated a motion to prohibit
formal endorsement of "any
humanitarian cause concerning
international or domestic
affairs other than those
pertaining to education."

"This endorsement
question has been debated all
year long," remarked Council
president Jim Rinaca
yesterday. "I think this
decision Tuesday night is a
clear assertion of Council as to
its endorsement policy."

Exercising its new
authority, Council then passed
a motion to endorse "any
humanitarian program
attempting to promote medical
aid, and solely medical aid, to
the war-ravaged countries of
Southeast Asia, provided they
meet the following criteria."

A group appealing to
Council must provide a
"knowledgeable spokesman"
to answer questions, from both
the Human Relations
Committee and the Council.
The group should distribute
literature about itself to each
Council member no later than
one week before endorsement
comes to the floor.

"Endorsement shall not
depend upon the political
affiliation or belief of said
group, but solely upon the
legitimacy and humanitarian
goals of this group and whether
the group has a majority of
students in the organization."

Mr. Rinaca explained that
this clause is to insure that the
group be basically a student
organization.

The only means by which
an organization may solicit
funds in Newcomb Hall is to
place a collection box in the
Council offices.

Therefore the organization
must, at the least, obtain
approval to do so from the
Human Relations Committee
of Council.

Initially, Human Relations
Committee will determine a
group's acceptability in relation
to the stated criteria. The
Committee may then either
endorse a group and provide a
space in Council's offices for a
collection box, withhold
endorsement and refuse a
collection space or simply
provide a collection space
without any formal
endorsement.

Regardless of the
Committee's decision, the
Council president must present
the matter fully at the next
Council meeting.