The Student Senate voted last night to cut the U’s student radio station funding by $16,000, beginning in the fall.
Joint Bill #18 suggested eliminating the guaranteed 2 percent of the student activity fee that K-UTE AM 1620 from Redbook, the policy manual of the Associated Students of the University of Utah. The bill passed with an 8 to 4 ruling.
Senate Chair Kristien Hixson McDonald, social and behavioral science, was the senate sponsor for the bill. Two assembly members sponsored the same bill in the ASUU Assembly, where the bill passed last month.
“I think that the 2 percent clause is an inappropriate way to fund K-UTE,” McDonald said, adding, “No matter how much K-UTE needs, they keep getting more [money].”
Sen. Sam Swenson, humanities, originally sponsored the bill, but withdrew his name before an official vote was taken. He later voted to preserve the station’s funding.
The 2 percent clause dates back to 1988, when K-UTE was re-established after a hiatus of several years. At that time, ASUU and the Board of Trustees agreed to fund K-UTE as long as it hired a graduate adviser. The “sunset clause,” as it became known, provided the 2 percent funding guarantee until the sun set on June 30, 2001.
McDonald argued that before that date, K-UTE, led by graduate adviser Beth Fratkin, got the clause extended in Redbook as a new senate presided.
After approximately two hours of debate, the Senate made its decision. K-UTE, however, had many supporters in the audience, including Communication Professor Craig Wirth, also a U graduate, and former Westminster College Student Body President Jonathan Jemming, a first-year law student at the U.
Jemming argued that if ASUU voted to cut K-UTE’s 2 percent clause, they were violating not only Redbook bylaws, but the U.S. Constitution as well.
“This decision is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution because the First Amendment clearly separates media entities from governmental control,” Jemming said. Jemming, who is the founder of Utah Independent Media Center, said he will lead K-UTE’s appeal to the ASUU Supreme Court, and ever further if he has to.
“We’ll fight this all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if we have to,” he said. “This is a power struggle between K-UTE and ASUU?It’s like a fight with your mom, and your mom will always win.”
Of the approximately $24,000 K-UTE received this year, 62 percent, or $14,600, went to Fratkin’s salary.
McDonald said ASUU repeatedly asked K-UTE for expenditure reports and budget updates, but that none were ever provided. As a result, she said, granting the station the 2 percent was questionable.
“I think that as ASUU, if we cut the 2 percent clause, we’ll know how they’ll spend their money,” she said.
Sen. Jason Morgan, engineering, led the argument in K-UTE’s defense.
“Normally, I don’t oppose bills brought up by felllow senators, but normally bills don’t hurt people,” Morgan said.
Morgan also pointed out that although ASUU has five representatives on the Student Broadcast Council board, only one ever showed up to a meeting, and only attended once. He said because ASUU members failed to attend SBC meetings, he had “no compelling reason” to vote for the bill.
“By voting for this bill, I’d be telling a lot of people their opinion doesn’t matter,” Morgan said.
K-UTE is budgeted to receive $8,000 beginning in the fall, and though that number is substantially less than the 2 percent the station received before, it is enough to function on, according to McDonald.
“To give K-UTE an automatic 2 percent is an easy way out, especially for an organization not many students support. We’re not fighting to kill K-UTE, we’re just changing the way we’re funding it,” she said.
For Fratkin, last night’s Senate meeting was just another hurdle in a long series of them.
“I’m upset because every time I turn around, somebody brings up another hoop they want us to jump through,” she said.
Fratkin also said despite the $8,000 K-UTE is eligible to receive through ASUU, she was “adamantly” opposed to the elimination of the amendment from Redbook.
“I do not want to see this constitutional amendment that gives us funding go away,” she said.