The Committee on Student Organizations denied Winter term funding for Uncommon Threads, a quarterly gender-issues publication, after its application was turned in late.
According to Kevin Goldman '99, a member of COSO, the committee's policy is not to consider any applications handed in after deadline.
Uncommon Threads -- which came under attack in December for a controversial story describing a woman's first lesbian experience -- believes that the denial of funding had nothing to do with the last term's issue.
Assistant Director of Student Activities Linda Kennedy said Uncommon Threads will be able to reapply for COSO funding next term.
Khalid Roberts '98, another COSO member, said there is a limited budget of money to be allotted to student publications each term, so the fact that one less publication is being backed will result in slightly higher financial support for the other organizations when the money is redistributed.
Publications have to apply for funding each term by submitting recent issues and proposing changes and improvements they hope to make.
Based on these applications, Roberts said, COSO funds the publications which have the strongest proposals and are the most established, but he said every group has an equal right to funding.
"We'd rather fund, and fund well, than fund every little thing," he said.
Last fall, every publication that applied was awarded funding, and this term the number of publications has decreased, he added.
"COSO has a strong track record as far as encouraging new student groups. We try to provide enough funds for new organizations to get started, and still have enough funds to support those that are already going strong," Goldman said in an e-mail message.
"The greatest problem is simply the limited funding available. Although the Undergraduate Finance Committee was generous in its allocation to COSO, there still isn't enough money in the pot to meet the needs of the students."
According to Andrea Korber '98 -- a member of Uncommon Threads -- the publication is currently seeking its funding elsewhere in order to publish an issue this term.
"People are working on it, and they're having positive feedback," she said, but added that the paper has not yet secured a definite source of funding.
