Collegian referendum postponed
By RYAN SMITH
Associated Students postponed passing a resolution to support a referendum
from The Collegian to increase student fees by $1.50 next year and end
its dependence on student government funding.
Nathan Hathaway, editor in chief of The Collegian, explains the
newspaper’s referendum proposal to Associated Students on
Thursday. Photo by Joseph Vasquez |
AS was reluctant to support the referendum immediately due to confusion
in the language of the proposal, AS executives said, specifically about
how much of a fee increase The Collegian was seeking. Instead, The Collegian
will have to present a revised proposal to the senate next Thursday, just
one day before the ballot deadline for student elections in April.
Approval of the referendum, staff members of The Collegian said, was necessary
to the overall quality of the newspaper.
Nathan Hathaway, The Collegian’s editor in chief, spoke to the panel
of senators for about 30 minutes.
During that time, he discussed the contents of the referendum, which
include a proposed student fee increase of $1.50 for next year, followed
by an increase of $1 a year through the 2009-2010 school year.
The language in question is just how much The Collegian is asking for
by the time the referendum expires, which senators say keeps varying.
The Collegian met with the student fee advisory committee earlier Thursday
to get the referendum on the student ballot.
Presently, The Collegian receives a bulk of its funding through AS, but
one of the goals of the referendum is to end what Hathaway described as
a “potential conflict of interest” between AS and the newspaper.
If approved next Thursday, students will vote on the referendum during
student elections April 20-21.
Approval of the referendum would also help bring an end to tensions between
the newspaper and AS, who have been discussing funding for three years.
“It would be nice to see something that is set in stone every year,”
AS executive vice president Brent Hansen said. “This back and forth
thing between us and The Collegian is getting sort of monotonous.
“It would really be nice to have a resolution, whether it comes
from a referendum or continued funding from AS.”
AS president Molly Fagundes said she thought the senate would pass a resolution
of support next Thursday if The Collegian finalizes its proposal.
Though the referendum is still under scrutiny, senate members showed support
for the continued existence of the newspaper.
“There is still a little bit of verbiage that needs to be worked
out,” Hansen said. “But I would hate to see the paper go,
and we will do everything possible to keep the paper on campus.”
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