University of Virginia Library

Request Granted

The Virginia Weekly received its request of
$3,200, and The Virginia Research, an
organization of faculty and students
investigating social conditions in the
Charlottesville area, received only $1800 of its
requested $2251.

An $49 allocation to SDS for similar
purposes last semester resulted in an injunction
by three law students, Sam Manly, Harry
Rayburn, and Brian Donato, preventing the
Council from giving the money on the rounds
that SDS was "politically-oriented." The
Student Activities Committee, which oversees
the allocation process ruled that funds could
not be given to "politically-oriented"
organizations.

Council secured ACLU attorney John Lowe
to represent them in court, but, because of
changes in the SDS constitution and
ambiguities in the definition of
"politically-oriented," the Council rescinded its
original grand with the understanding that the
matter would be considered when allocation
would be made in the spring.

Several Council members had said they felt
that the real issue was whether the Council was
to have control of the Student Activities Fee, as
well as what constituted a
"politically-oriented" organization. Since the
SAC said that the Council should define the
term itself, the definition of the Internal
Revenue Service, which states that a group
involved in electoral politics is political, had
been used. Reasoning that SDS was not directly
involved in the electoral procedure, the Council
had given the money to be used for
"educational purposed."