SAC to vote on fate of 'Red and Blue'

The 180-member Student Activities Council body will vote tonight whether to re-recognize The Red and Blue, one week after the SAC Steering Committee gave the conservative newspaper a positive recommendation. This is the fourth time the newspaper has applied for re-recognition, and the third time it has received a positive vote from the six-member 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 SAC steering thought the editors had attacked other SAC groups in print, including the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance. In its October 1989 issue, the Red and Blue labeled the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance as one of the four biggest "wastes of money" on campus, and derided the group's name change. Editors of the newspaper maintained that SAC steering's decision was unfair because it violated the Open Expression Guidelines. The decision prompted campus-wide debate on the issue. Last April, the University's Open Expression Committee made a non-binding ruling that SAC violated Open Expression Guidelines when it denied the paper recognition, saying that SAC based the decision on the paper's content. Red and Blue Editor-in-Chief Chris Matton said this week that he thinks the newspaper has "a good shot" at receiving re-recognition because the content of the controversial issue has faded from students' memories. "We're getting more and more distant from the incident that led to de-recognition and the time aspect will play a role," he said. Doreva Belfiora, SAC representative for the LGBA, said this week that her organization has not changed its opinion and will not support Red and Blue re-recognition. "The LGBA does not wish to censor the Red and Blue in any way, nor does it approve of censoriship in any form," she said. "The group does not wish to legitimize this paper by voting for its re-recognition, however. Again this is not a question of censorship for us because the Red and Blue can be published without SAC recognition." Several members of the SAC body said yesterday that they are not certain how they will vote on Red and Blue recognition. The newspaper, which has published one issue this year, is only requesting re-recognition and will not ask to be SAC funded. The Red and Blue is currently being funded solely by alumni donations.

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