'Red and Blue' gets approval of SAC heads

The Student Activities Council steering committee last night recommended for the third time that the conservative newspaper The Red and Blue be re-recognized by the SAC body. SAC's 180 members will vote on re-recognition next Thursday. This is the fourth time the newspaper has applied for re-recognition, and the third time it has received a positive recommendation from the steering committee. The newspaper, which lost recognition because it failed to register with the Office of Student Life in the fall of 1989, did not get a positive recommendation on its first attempt because the steering committee thought the editors had attacked other SAC groups in print, including the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance. Previously the SAC body has disregarded the six-member steering committee's positive recommendation and denied re-recognition. According to SAC Steering Committee Vice Chairperson Greg Shufro, the committee gave The Red and Blue a positive recommendation last night because the newspaper met all the SAC requirements, including having a primarily undergraduate membership and a unique purpose at the University. This denial prompted the Open Expression Committee to pass a non-binding resolution stating that SAC had violated Open Expression Guidelines. Red and Blue Editor-in-Chief Chris Matton said the newspaper's chance for re-recognition depends on whether SAC debates the paper's editorial content or focuses on its technical merits as an organization. He added that he would try to de-emphasize the newspaper's content by not distributing copies at Thursday's meeting. "Clearly, any number of people will have read the issue and will bring their own copies, but we're not providing any ammuniton that we don't have to provide," said the Wharton senior. Matton said The Red and Blue asked the steering committee to grant them emergency recognition, a special consideration he said would improve their chances of being recognized by the SAC body. But Shufro said that the newspaper does not meet SAC's conditions for emergency recognition, which is reserved for cases in which an organization needs recognition in order to function. LGBA representative Doreva Belfiore, whose organization was one of the most vocal opponents of re-recognition last year, said that her group has not changed its opinion of The Red and Blue. "The membership feels that The Red and Blue has not changed significantly, particularly with its derogatory comments toward individuals," said the College junior. Last year, the LGBA sent letters to the newspaper's advertisers, recommending that they withdraw their support.

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