Abortion debate was a valuable campus event

TO THE EDITOR:

The article “Abortion event gets $9,675 from Congress” (Oct. 21) cited how more student funds were used per participant than other events hosted by UNC student organizations.

Although the event cost more per person than some events, this does not make the event less valuable. The value of the debate should not be judged by the amount of money spent per student, but rather by the quality of the event and the impact that the event will have on the community. Both speakers are arguably two of the most well-respected speakers in their respective fields. Carolina Students For Life has been trying for a long time to invite such distinguished and knowledgeable speakers to have a two-sided discussion about abortion.

CSFL used all of its generated funds to keep the amount of funds used by Student Congress to a minimum. Also, for years, CSFL tried to find a pro-choice organization on campus that would be willing to co-sponsor an unbiased debate in which both pro-life and pro-choice perspectives were represented.

All groups who were asked repeatedly denied involvement. Co-sponsorship would have deflected some cost away from student funds if another group had been willing to co-sponsor and use some of its own generated income.

After realizing that no other group was willing to co-sponsor the event, CSFL still thought the event would be valuable to the campus and the community and decided to host the event by itself.



Byron Dawson
Director of Public Relations Carolina Students For Life