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The Daily Tar Heel

Let Congress interpret: Student Congress should be allowed to make funding judgments

Governments — even Student Congress — need to be allowed to interpret the laws designed to guide their actions.

A student group is suing Student Congress in part because its members think Congress shouldn't make funding decisions except based on criteria explicitly enumerated in the Student Code.

The Code lists 163 pages of regulations student leaders are accountable to.

Every possible funding scenario cannot be foreseen. As long as Congress is sticking to the spirit of the Code and being transparent in all other actions" it should have some leeway for interpretation.

It has largely met that mandate in this case.

After not receiving funding for its annual ""I Love Female Orgasm"" event this year" Project Dinah is suing Congress.

In its annual budget Congress decided not to fund the event this year after partly funding it for the past two years.

Congress generally does not fund functions that have occurred in the past four years. Leaders have said they want to use funds for new events to broaden the scope of campus activities and speakers.

This rationale is not explicitly defined in the Student Code" but is articulated in ""Title V for Dummies"" a guide Congress produced in 2007 to help groups navigate the confusing funding process.

Project Dinah asserts that Congress shouldn't be allowed to use Title V for Dummies"" when making funding decisions.

To imply that Congress must strictly adhere to the written word of the Code does not give Congress enough room to interpret or continue past precedents.

Project Dinah makes another point in its lawsuit that is valid. Congress members said that the group should be able to get funds for its popular event elsewhere — a budgeting rationale that is expressly prohibited by the Student Code.

Of course Congress should never violate the Code" it shouldn't be strictly bound only to what's written in it.


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