 | Board of Visitors minutes February 2, 1973 |  |
IV. Recommendations and Summary of Supporting Reasons
A. The Committee recommends that the request of the Gay Student Union for an allocation of $45.00 from the Student Activity Fund be denied.
1. The GSU cultivates and advocates a style of sexual life. This is a private and personal matter which has no reasonable relationship to the educational purposes of the University. The Board has no power to authorize a disbursement of funds for a purpose unrelated to the educational purposes of the University. The Board also has no power to authorize the disbursement of public funds for a private and personal purpose. The activity funds are held by the Board subject to an express trust implied from the facts. This trust requires that the funds be used for a purpose beneficial to the University and to support organizations to which all students have de facto access. Heterosexuals have no de facto access to the GSU and its social events. The activities of the Union are not clearly beneficial to the University.
2. The allocation is not in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Board in 1970. The words "social entertainment" as used in the guidelines must be interpreted in context. When interpreted in context, the words are read to exclude an organization such as GSU whose activities are substantially social as well as to exclude payment for social events of an incidental nature by organizations whose activities are not substantially social. This has been the settled policy of the Board and must necessarily be its policy because of restrictions upon its powers to disburse the funds.
The Constitution of GSU and its statement of purposes are sufficiently broad to include engaging in propaganda and political activity to change legislation. No funds should be granted to an organization with a constitution and statement of purpose of this scope unless:
a. The constitution expressly limits the organization to one of the exempt purposes stated in IRC § 501(c)(3) and
b. The constitution specifically excludes as purposes of the organization engagement in propaganda and efforts to influence legislation.
An exception should be made for "public interest" organizations so far as efforts to influence legislation are concerned and to its development or dissemination of information based on nonpartisan analysis, study or research.
An organization with a constitution sufficiently restricted that it would not reasonably embrace propaganda and efforts to influence legislation need not include the special restrictions set forth prior to an allocation of funds.
Based upon the disavowals by the GSU spokesmen of the probable political activities of the GSU, the Committee is not prepared to rest its decision solely upon the issue of political activity to change legislation. The Committee, nevertheless, concludes from the Constitution, statement of purpose and testimony, that the organization reasonably may be expected to engage in propaganda and political activity in violation of these guidelines.
B. The Committee observes that the practice of designating special uses of funds allocated to organizations may involve an unconstitutional interference with the freedom of speech or of assembly of members of the organization.
C. The Committee recommends that the Student Activities Committee be directed to reexamine allocations of funds during the 1972-73 session and hereafter in accordance with the decision of the Board in this case and to halt allocations to all organizations not meeting the requirements of the 1970 guidelines as here interpreted.
| Board of Visitors minutes February 2, 1973 | |