Letter to the Editor 2, 2/25

To the Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ I am writing in response to Tuesday’s article and editorial about the… To the Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ I am writing in response to Tuesday’s article and editorial about the Pitt Program Council. This article completely discredited the hundreds of dedicated PPC committee members who attend several meetings per week to brainstorm speakers, performers, activities and art exhibits. ‘ ‘ ‘ The eight committee directors who represent each programming committee are led by the executive board director. Contrary to what the article stated, the executive board director is a manager. It is incorrect to say that he has a personal budget of $765,500 to spend on behalf of the student body. Currently, JJ Abbott is serving as the interim lecture director, and his statements regarding the decisions for the David Plouffe event were inaccurately applied to how the entire Pitt Program Council is run.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The insinuation that this portion of the student activities fee could be irresponsibly apportioned if placed in the wrong hands is insulting to our student leaders as well as the administrators who oversee the PPC directors. These directors are held accountable to more tiers of University administrators than any other student organization, and the idea that such students should be elected by other students is completely contradictory to this concern. The application and selection process to be a PPC director is in place to ensure that the most qualified and reliable students are appointed to conduct the detailed workings of such a wide-reaching organization. Victoria Lee, former PPC advertising director and executive board director College of Arts of Sciences