Explanation of Women's Choice $50 Grant

In reply to S Romijn's letter in Salient 5 July, 1976 I would like to clear up a few erroneous points made regarding the donation of $50 to the Women's Choice Club.

If he had looked carefully at the breakdown of $30.50 students' association fee he would have seen that a total of $600 is allotted to donations and $5000 to Cultural Affairs (which includes clubs - one of which is the Women's Choice Club).

The motion as Passed at S.R.C. that it be recommended that $50 be Donated to the club in support of the Abortion Rally at the opening of Parliament. This was a specific donation for this purpose alone, not for the Women's Choice Club to spend on anything needed for the running of the club (This is what grants from Cultural Affairs funds are for - therefore, if you belong to the motorcycle, car or any other similar club you are getting your money's worth, i.e the fraction of your Stud. Ass. fee that went to Cultural Affairs). Don't complain if you haven't joined a club or aren't using the facilities you are paying for.

The $50 has been passed directly to the Abortion Rally Committee to help pay expenses for organising and advertising the successful rally. The rally is the beginning of a campaign to change the abortion laws which are seriously affecting the lives of women with unwanted pregnancies and therefore, is directly involved in offering social aid to women. Thus, as the Women's Choice Club was involved with the rally, and as female students can just as easily become pregnant as any other woman, the issue involves both the club and a large proportion of this university. Not forgetting also that Abortion Law Repeal is a policy of the Students' Association.

The worthless dart paper mentioned attracted more than 600 women to march on Parliament and gained us coverage in all forms of the media was our intention.

I have not seen any complaints about other meetings and marches on that day that cost the country/tax payer countless thousands/or millions of dollars in work hours lost. But then I guess this doesn't worry you as you use the tax-payers money to live off too.

Just because this $50 donation does not benefit you directly is no reason to have it rejected. If your girlfriend needed an abortion would you still think it was money wasted if it had helped make this or the easy obtaining of contraceptives possible?