After receiving a report from the Helmsman Funding Committee, University of Memphis President Shirley Raines did not accept the committee's recommendations but authorized a short-term funding solution for the University of Memphis' independent student newspaper, The Daily Helmsman.
While the Helmsman's funding for the 2013-14 academic year is promised, the future of the paper's funding and the structure and policies of the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee remain unclear.
"To take this off of the table for this next year, the $75,000 is there. Part of it is from student activity fees and part of it will be from other fees, but that is something that I am determining here at the administration level," Raines said.
In April 2012, the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee voted to cut the Helmsman's funding by 33 percent, which lead to an investigation that revealed the paper's content was a factor in the committee's decision - an apparent First Amendment violation.
"There is a bigger issue at hand, and that is to protect the paper from censorship and harassment," Chelsea Boozer, alumnae and former editor of the Helmsman, said. "Raines' emailed remarks note the paper's importance in the campus community and I can only hope that she really sees how vital it is to protect the paper from the retaliation it experienced while I was editor."
While Raines assured that the Helmsman would receive funding, she did not directly specify where the funding would come from.
"While I am pleased Raines is securing the paper's normal funding for this year, it is premature to say the Helmsman has nothing else to worry about," Boozer said.
Yesterday, Raines sent an email to UM students, faculty and staff informing the University community of the importance of the newspaper. She stated that the University would allocate the continued level of funding, $75,000, to the newspaper for the upcoming academic year.
Brian Faughnan, the attorney representing the Helmsman, sees this decision as beneficial in the short term. However, he has concerns that the Helmsman will again be denied funding by the SAF Allocation Committee, as was the case in April 2012.
"To me it is very good news to hear that the Helmsman won't have to go back hat-in-hand to the committee to ask for funding," Faughnan said. "It certainly raises questions though about what will happen in the future."
This means that the Helmsman will not go to the SAF Allocation Committee, consisting of five administrators and the president and vice president of the Student Government Association, to lobby for funding for the next academic year, but it may have to do so in upcoming years.
"The Student Activity Fee may be involved, but the process where the students were determining whether the content was appropriate or not will not be a part of it," Raines said.
It is still unclear how the Helmsman will receive funding in the future.
"While we are happy to get $75,000 for the next year, that is not what the Helmsman asked for. The Helmsman asked for a long-term solution for the funding problem, not just one year, but a long-term solution," Candy Justice, general manager for the Helmsman and official observer but non-voting member of the Helmsman Funding Committee, said.
The report recommends broader student participation and representation from multiple student groups rather than solely from the SGA, the exclusion of voting by representatives from groups receiving funding and making the allocation process more transparent.
The committee suggested three alternative funding methods for the Helmsman, none of which Raines accepted for the upcoming academic year. They included an annual dollar amount from available SAF, a percentage formula of SAF based on enrollment and a fixed percentage formula based on available SAF.
It is unclear if Raines will implement any of these recommendations. It is also unclear which, if any, alternative funding method will be established for the Helmsman.
"I would hope that something would happen by the end of the school year," Otis Sanford, funding committee member and Hardin Chair of Excellence in the journalism department, said. "That would be helpful not only for the Helmsman, but for every organization involved."
Raines has secured funding for the Helmsman until May of 2014 with the possibility of authorizing a stable and reliable funding method for the publication's future.
"I think that Dr. Raines will give the report the strong consideration it deserves," Sanford said.
