URINE
by Noam & the Third Rail Editorial Collective

As a rule, Third Rail Magazine, deplores student publications which permit transnational corporations to purchase advertising space in their respective publications. We feel that college students are sufficiently bombarded with ads that seek to exploit our bodies and wallets. However, due to insufficient funding (directly due to the incompetence of the CSI Office of Student Life) we, like other CSI student publications, were forced to accept this paid advertisement. While in the past, Student Government had allocated roughly $80,000 to student publications, the Office of Student Life convinced all student publications to endorse and vote for the creation of a separate allocating body for student publications. The result has seen the budgets of student publications slashed from roughly $80,000 per year to about $50,000 per year. Consequently, with less money to divide amongst the various student publications, the Office of Student Life has pitted one student newspaper against another (like dogs) where each publication fights for the greatest share of money. Rather than create an environment where publications help, aid and encourage one another, the Office of Student Life has created an environment where students compete with one another and where accusations and lies are thrown back and forth. After discovering that CSI publications would see their budgets slashed, the Office of Student Life proceeded to do absolutely nothing except sit on the sidelines and watch the various student editorial boards fight amongst themselves. For these reasons, we condemn the CSI Office of Student Life and its director, Carol Brower.