The RPI College Republicans have recently objected to the showing of Fahrenheit 9/11 by UPAC Cinema, claiming that by showing such a film, UPAC Cinema is in violation of Union budgeting policies that dictate that the Executive Board will not fund political and religious activities. At its meeting Tuesday, the E-Board did not agree with the Republicans, and the screening will take place. However, we feel it is necessary to address this issue, as these decisions are important to the future of the budgeting process and the free speech rights of Union clubs.
UPAC is given money each year so that it can show movies for students to see. This summer, Fahrenheit 9/11 was shown in movie theatres all over the country and was one of the season’s top-grossing movies. As the only campus club charged with showing films to the community, UPAC Cinema would not be fulfilling their purpose if they didn’t show this movie. They are a business as well as a club, and must make all attempts to show the best movies they can to bring in as much revenue as possible.
The UPAC committees were created to provide entertainment to the campus, and thus the movies shown by UPAC Cinema are meant to provide amusement to students. Showing Fahrenheit 9/11 is not a political activity. The posters advertising the showing state in large letters, “for entertainment only.” If the members of UPAC were to stand up before the movie’s showing and condone the statements made in the movie, the line separating entertainment and politics would be crossed. However, just by showing the movie, no views are expressed by the organization, and no opinions are forced onto viewers. Would showing the high-grossing film The Passion of the Christ mean UPAC that endorses Christianity?
Since they formed last year, the Republicans have several times challenged the funding of other clubs’ activities in the hopes of invalidating the Union regulations that prevent their own group from obtaining funding. In most cases, they were not successful in convincing people of their views and in the cases where they were, it was stretched reasoning and loose associations that won the argument. Many people agree that the current Union regulations are fair and lead to students’ money being distributed in the best way possible. The College Republicans should accept this, and stop trying to interpret the rules to benefit themselves.
