University of Virginia Library

No Funds To SDS

Never before has the Student Council's
annual allocation process raised such a furor
from so many unconnected interests. Of
course, whenever limited funds need to be
spread among many different types of
organizations and publications, someone is
not going to be satisfied. Two night ago when
appeals from the recommendations of the
Organizations and Publications Committee
were heard by the whole Student Council,
arguments over specific monetary grants
centered around whether the group was
political in nature or not.

The Student Activities Committee which is
ultimately responsible for the allocations to
all student groups allows the Student Council
to dole out the available funds to all of the
groups with the exception of The Cavalier
Daily. The Board of Visitors and the SAC had
set certain limitations and guidelines for the
Student Council to follow in allocating the
money which supplement those of Council.

For example, the Board will allow no
group to use student funds for entertainment,
nor allow allocation to social organizations or
politically-oriented organizations.

The most perplexing guideline as witnessed
by Tuesday's evening meeting is the political
stipulation. Opponents of allocations to some
liberal to radical groups such as the Virginia
Weekly and the SDS charged that those
groups are political in nature and therefore
should not receive any allocations from the
Student Activities fee. We believe that there is
a very real distinction between a publication
like the Virginia, which should receive
financial aid, and the SDS which should not.

Almost any publication, especially a
newspaper, is political. It has to be. If it is
not, it can hardly cover the news and could
never comment upon it. It would be as
impotent as the Administration's official
University Notices and would not be worthy
to be called a newspaper. Secondly, we do not
believe that the Student Council should cut
the purse strings of the Virginia Weekly and
thereby be open to the charge of censorship
through the wallet.

Just from last year's fiasco with the
allocation to the SDS and the hastily written
check to that organization which resulted in
extended litigation we did not believe that the
Student Council would make the same
mistake twice. Members of the Student
Council who voted for the larger allocation
this year noted that since the SDS was not
involved in electoral politics and since the
money could only be spent for "educational"
materials, it was "legal" to go ahead and give
the money to them.

Our reason for opposing the $100 SDS
grant is that it raises the question of funding
for many other groups which are political in
nature, but which are not involved directly in
electoral politics. What is to prevent many
other groups from popping up and demanding,
rightfully so, for funds for "educational
purposes" for almost anything. Since there are
and will always be limited funds available for
student groups, the political cut-off serves a
very useful purpose.

Not adhering to it, the Student Council
will be forced to make open and admittedly
normative judgements on the groups' various
political stances.

The Student Council must have realized
that by giving the admittedly small sum to the
SDS they have practically killed any chance
they may have had to wrest control of student
monies from the Student Activities Committee.
Diplomacy and tact, not only endless
confrontation, can be used to achieve even
student goals.