Rainbow Alliance attends SGB meeting to protest budget cut

Rainbow Alliance appeared at last night’s SGB meeting in full force to complain about denied… Rainbow Alliance appeared at last night’s SGB meeting in full force to complain about denied allocations requests.

The group was denied funds to attend the Creating Change Conference, which they have attended ever year since 1990.

Student Government Board cut $6,300 from Rainbow Alliance’s annual budget, marking the lowest budget the organization has been given in three years.

“The action of the Board denying us the conference and funding may appear homophobic to anyone

looking at the Board from an outside prospective,” Rainbow Alliance publicity chair Dylan Drobish said.

James Weaver, president of the Rainbow Alliance, asked the Board why it cut the group’s budget.

“Why is an organization that consistently uses funding to provide a wealth of well-attended programming events denied funds?” he asked.

Weaver said Pitt’s absence from the conference will reflect badly on campus and noted that Georgetown will be attending the conference.

“It will an embarrassment to our great school,” he said.

Weaver told the Board that there is no Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Allied resource center at Pitt, and it falls on the Rainbow Alliance to educate the student body.

He said that when SGB denied Rainbow Alliance’s allocations request, the Board denied the student body the necessary resources to learn.

President Kevin Morrison responded to Weaver’s concerns.

“The Rainbow Alliance is not the only organization that has had their funding cut,” he said.

Morrison said that it is unfortunate that Pitt doesn’t have a resource center, but that it is not Rainbow Alliance’s responsibility to provide resources for the entire campus.

Board members offered to help members of Rainbow Alliance lobby the University for a new resources center.

Weaver later said he was thankful for the support, but felt unsure about how sincere the Board was and what its motivations were.

“I just hope the Board follows through,” he said.