Police brutality protest sparks controversy

The Student Activities Council may revoke its funding of the rally. and Sabrina Gleizer A student group's protest against police brutality drew only 20 people to College Green Friday, but that doesn't mean the event went unnoticed. Instead, a dispute over whether the rally should be labeled as a political event has the members of the Student Activity Council wondering whether to revoke the $200 in SAC funding which was allocated to the protest. The Progressive Activist Network rally focused on the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a controversial journalist imprisoned on Pennsylvania's death row since 1982 for the murder of a police officer, despite a ruling by SAC officials that the event could not protest Abu-Jamal's case because of its overtly political nature. SAC Chairperson and College senior Katie Cooper said PAN members had promised that Pam Africa, a representative of the Friends of Mumia organization, would not speak at the event and that Abu-Jamal's case would not be brought up. Africa ultimately spoke at the event and mentioned the Abu-Jamal case, but was identified as a member of MOVE, a local African nationalist group, in an attempt to get around the SAC restrictions. Cooper said that the removal of Africa from the speakers list was a condition of the funding, which totaled just over $200 above and beyond the $3,300 PAN received from SAC for 1998. As a result, SAC could decide to ask PAN to return the $200. SAC, which this year allocated about $420,000 from the student government budget to its member groups, is not allowed -- both by its own bylaws and the University's -- to fund any political group or event. PAN members conceded Friday that SAC had asked them not to discuss the Abu-Jamal case at the rally. "When [SAC] gave us contingency funding they said their condition was that we couldn't have the friends or family of Mumia," said College junior and event organizer Monica Brady. "[But we] decided to take a stand for free speech." Since PAN was given funding conditionally, Cooper said the body could vote to ask for the money back. She added that SAC's Executive Board will meet tonight to determine what course of action to recommend to the body during its next meeting on December 2. Requesting that the money be returned would require a majority vote. Cooper said she expects that SAC members will try to revoke the funding request since she "has been approached by many student groups who were concerned about the rally." If SAC leaders continue to be concerned about PAN's political nature, they could vote against funding the the student group at all during their annual funding meeting in April. Such a move is not without precedent. In 1995, SAC cut funding for The Red and Blue magazine due to concerns about the magazine's political content. Funding was later restored. After community groups rapped and spoke about Abu-Jamal and local prisoner Bae-Rae Choice, whose supporters claim he was framed for armed robbery, protesters marched to the 16th Police District Headquarters at 39th Street and Lancaster Avenue.

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