To the Editor:

Re: “The Berry Patch: By-line Funding: It’s Simple, Really,” Opinion, Nov. 4

Although The Sun correctly identified the need to publish information regarding the allocation of the Student Activity Fee, it did a disservice to the Cornell community by turning the piece into an anonymous, factually incorrect, satirical piece of prose. By blatantly admitting that the writers spent no more than “three-and-a-half minutes digging through the annals of the Student Assembly Charter to bring [its readers] the facts,” The Sun did more than disgrace its duty to report truthfully and thoroughly — it demonstrated a complete lack of respect for its readers. Not verifying facts often results in The Sun unfairly representing organizations on campus and regrettably losing credibility among its readers. Just last week, The Sun incorrectly reported that the Student Assembly Finance Commission influenced the cut in the funding of the Cornell Cinema.

To the Editor:

Re: “Assembly members defend decisions,” Letters, Nov. 3

Some Background:

The Student Assembly invited Cornell Cinema to apply for activity fee funding in the late 1980s. At that time, and since its inception in 1970, the Cinema has been a hybrid organization, run by a professional staff, with students serving in an advisory capacity and as employees actively engaged in the organization. There are legions of Cornell alums who were involved with the Cinema as students and consider that involvement to be a significant part of their Cornell experience.

I attended exactly three films put on by Cornell Cinema last year. In descending order of theater packedness: The Dark Knight; Waltz With Bashir; L’Enfant Sauvage. The first of these films was, well, awesome — as in the biblical sense of the word (not the contemporary, frater-natural lexicon). Waltz With Bashir was gripping — as in this graphic-novel looking thing gripped my throat and coerced me into caring about a massacre I had never heard of. L’Enfant Sauvage was boring — as in I was bored. The 18th Century frog doctor and his feral friend left me squirming in my seat before the Twizzlers and popcorn were all eaten.

When I made my debut in the Opinion section, I advocated a different type of diversity: diversity of thoughts and ideas. Since then, I have avoided that topic, as I consider it too much of a cliché, but a few years later, the time is now ripe to revive this concept with a new twist.

No matter who they side with, those who fail to consider the diverse array of perspectives in composing their arguments are destined to produce poor sketches of their own arguments.

To the Editor:

Re: “In Defense of Our Cinema,” Opinion, Nov. 2

Thanks to The Sun, I’ve heard the different sides of the Student Assembly vs. the Cornell Cinema funding controversy. I like to believe that I am unbiased in the subject. Have I attended movies and programs at the Cornell Cinema? Yes. Have I waited on line to attend an event at the Cornell Cinema only to be told I was on the wrong line and the event is now full? Yes. Have I applied for and obtained funding for a student organization from the Student Assembly? Yes. Have I been told because I didn’t correctly state an estimate in my budget that I was not getting funding? Yes. It’s safe to say that I’ve had a good and bad relationship with the Cornell Cinema and Student Assembly.

Last Thursday, the Student Assembly rejected Cornell Cinema’s appeal of a 22-percent cut in their byline funding over the next two academic years. This decision, which will seriously compromise one of our University’s most important cultural institutions, was a triumph of bureaucratic ineptitude and willful narrow-mindedness.

Between the protesters’ waving signs, the additional media coverage, the unusually vocal audience and the array of students with camcorders, yesterday’s Student Assembly meeting looked more like a political rally or professional sporting event than an Appropriations Committee by-line funding appeal. The entire meeting focused on hearing Cornell Cinema’s appeal to overturn the Appropriations Committee’s recent decision, which not only denied the organization’s request for a $0.75 increase, but also imposed a $2.40 decrease from $11.00 to $8.60 for the next two-year byline funding cycle.

While the strict Student Assembly Finance Committee guidelines intend to impart fairness in the distribution of funding to student groups, these rigid rules have instead prevented certain groups from fulfilling their mission. Such is the case with Sexual Awareness for Everyone, a student group that works to educate students on sexual health topics and promote safe sex practices.

In order to fulfill their goal, SAFE requested funding for condoms, lube and dental dams to distribute free of cost to the Cornell community. A clause in the guidelines prohibited the group from receiving funds. It is clear that the SAFC needs to revisit its guidelines so as not to thwart worthwhile causes due to bureaucratic practices.

Some students gasped and others giggled when Lisa Opdycke, ’11, president of Sexual Awareness for Everyone dramatically plopped down a large, 26-page-long petition of names and signatures from students who support the group’s request for funding from the Student Assembly Finance Committee for condoms, dental dams and lube. Opdycke presented the impressive list at last Thursday’s S.A. meeting as a symbol of campus-wide support when SAFE appealed the outcome of the SAFC’s funding decision to the Student Assembly.

In an attempt to enhance its communication with the student body, the Student Assembly recently created the Student Innovation Council to put student ideas into practice more effectively.