Funds carefullycontemplated by SG
Re: “SG senate examines funds,”Nov. 29

Brandon Faza and I had discussions regarding the CITF allocations and decided it would be best for the senate to form an ad-hoc committee regarding this matter.

After discussing the issue, Faza and I mentioned that if any money is taken away from the new Phyllis P. Marshall Center, it should go to the College of Visual and Performing Arts and/or the College of Architecture. Both of these colleges have tried to get funds in the past through the budget, but were vetoed by Gov. Jeb Bush. If we look at this past year in Florida, we can conclude that a major portion of the state budget will go toward hurricane damages. This means that we may not get the full funds we have requested for these two colleges.

The reasons why we formed the committee are not so clear in the article. If read briefly, it seems as though the senate supports the allocations that Bijal (Chhadva) and Andrew (Aubery) would like to make, that being $1 million for a billboard as well as $65,000 for the controversial 9/11 Memorial. The sole purpose behind creating this committee, for myself, was because I did not support Bijal and Andrew’s propositions for the CITF funds. I am well aware that these allocations have to be approved, as Bijal mentioned, but in my opinion, I feel that the money should go to repairing our colleges before building an outrageous sign. I hope the students would agree, especially those affected by this decision. If you have any opinions or insight on this matter, I would be more than happy to see you attend our first meeting today at 1 p.m., in Room 129 of the Phyllis P. Marshall Center.

Helen Pflugh is a senator for the College of Education and is a sophomore majoring in political science.

Other organizations also involved in activism
Re: “Spotlight on Student Organizations,” Nov. 24

I wanted to point out a correction to the article. Although the End the Occupation Fair was an Alliance of Concerned Students event, the banner protesting the war in Iraq was made by the Feminist Student Alliance, which is the organization responsible for the march, and for future weekly marches protesting the war.

Several of our members are also members of the ACS, and we are also an umbrella organization, housing members of various organizations under our roof. The FSA will be holding the march weekly throughout the spring semester and updating the death toll of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians. Wednesday will be our final march of the fall semester, and with the ACS, we will be marching around campus and ending at the lawn outside Cooper Hall, where the ACS “Die-In” will be held until 2 p.m. Anyone interested may meet in front of the recreation center, next to the Sun Dome, at 11 a.m.

Sarah Wells is a senior majoring in women’s studies.

Charity is indeed charity, but aid is not
Re: Column, “Charity does not equalcharity,” Nov. 29

It is interesting to see how Adam Fowler segregates everybody into one entity or another. Instead of American citizens or a united society, we have liberals and conservatives. Furthermore, he has deemed himself fit enough to classify and describe in intimate detail each of these group’s principles. It would be interesting to see the size of his address book since he seems to know so well the millions of people in these groups. Yet for all his skill in classification, Fowler somehow overlooked the distinction between aid and charity.

People donating money to NGO-sponsored works of charity is all well and good. However, it is not necessarily tantamount to government-sponsored aid. In truth, most aid is not charity at all, rather it is money lent with an implicit promise. A promise that this investment will serve as an impetus to better a person’s life, and in turn better everyone’s lives. People willing to put forth the effort of finding their feet should not be denied the tools to do so.

But, oh no, we can’t have the government divvying up our money like some glorified Robin Hood. And we can’t have the scary liberals breaking down doors to “forcibly extract” the cash from our wallets. Fowler claims that a certain group is more than willing to spend other’s tax revenues on the poor and disadvantaged, as if liberals don’t pay their taxes, too.

It is this sort of mentality that people without children have toward funding schools. They say, “Well, it doesn’t directly benefit me. So why should I pay?” It does benefit you: When you grow ill, where will your doctor be educated? Who will serve you in any of the multitude of professions you rely upon daily? Those ignored by the government and shunned by the public are the very same ones driven to find professions that are not so honorable and perhaps not so legal. If executed correctly, government aid should be the equivalent of teaching a man to fish, while charity is simply the fish.

Joshua Knipp is a junior majoring in psychology.