University of Virginia Library

Committee Denies Funds
For The Virginia Weekly

By Holly Smith
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The Virginia Weekly newspaper will be
denied Student Council funding for the
following year if the recommendations of
the Organizations and Publications
Committee are approved.

In a report released on Monday, the
figures opposite the Virginia Weekly read:
Amount Requested — $7130.00, Amount
Allocated — 0.

O&P Committee Chairman Hugh
Antrim stated the recommendation had
been made because "Under the Board of
Visitors definition of political activities the
committee felt the Virginia Weekly was not
eligible to receive Student Activities funds.
Committee member Mike Cohen added "We
felt it had ceased being a newspaper and had
become a propagandizing pamphlet."

Allotments

Last year the Weekly was alloted $3200 to
publish a newspaper to be distributed free of
charge to University members. The Weekly has
appeared approximately once every three weeks
this year.

Weekly spokesman Tom Gardner gave the
following statement: "We of the Virginia
Weekly Collective are amazed at the political
censorship undertaken by the members of the
Student Council's O&P Committee in severing
all funds to the Virginia Weekly. It is
unfortunate that the student members of the
O&P seem to be implementing the designs of
the state legislature and Board of Visitors rather
than representing the students and others
against these repressive forces.

Motivations

"We think that the claim that the Weekly is
'political and propagandistic' while crediting
the Law Weekly, the Journal of International
Law, the Cavalier Daily, and the Student
Council itself with 'objectivity' is, to put it
mildly, bullshit!

"The motivation is clear. A publication
which doesn't conform to the established
political viewpoints is being censored. If the
O&P's proposal is passed the University
community will be denied any viewpoints other
than those acceptable to the members of the
Student Council."

Three other organizations were also denied
funds. The Law School Admissions Council and
the Legal Assistance Society, both making their
first request to Council, were refused support.
A group proposing to provide loans for
abortions, the Population Funds Committee,
was denied their request for funds.