CWU trustees to review cuts to student newspaper and magazine next week

YAKIMA – For more than a century, Central Washington University students have had independent, campus-based news. Now it is at risk.

CWU’s board of trustees will decide whether to slash budgets for two student-run publications next week. The Observer newspaper would see its budget reduced from more than $60,000 annually to $1,100 while Pulse Magazine’s budget would drop from $28,000 to $2,000.

“It would basically shut down the Observer,” said Brandon Mattesich, the newspaper’s co-editor in-chief.

Gunner Stuns, the Pulse’s editor-in-chief, said he doesn’t believe the magazine will continue to exist under the proposed budget.

The proposed cuts were recommended by the Services and Activities, or S&A, Committee, which oversees how student fees are spent. The school’s board of trustees will consider the committee’s recommended budget at a meeting Thursday and next Friday and make the final decision, said Veronica Gomez-Vilchis, CWU’s interim vice president of student engagement and success, in an email statement.

In response to questions from the Yakima Herald-Republic, the statement said the board of trustees tries to stick to the desires of the S&A committee as long as the proposed budget doesn’t violate state law by affecting contractual obligations, bond agreements or “stability for programs affecting students.”

The statement said campus administrators are looking for other sources of funding to support student-run publications.

“S&A fees are only one stream of resources, and we are actively working to identify other funding sources. The university values student experiences that prepare them for future careers, and we hope to find a way to keep our student media organizations up and running,” Joel Klucking, CWU’s vice president of finance and administration, said in the statement.

Mattesich, Stuns and other students are calling for the board of trustees to reconsider the budget recommendations.

What do the Observer and Pulse do?

The Observer has existed for nearly 110 years and covers everything from live events and student activities to breaking news about the campus administration or local crime. The newspaper publishes a print edition once a week and online content daily.

In the past, that content included covering student government elections and campus events. Recently, it covered CWU’s planned cuts of its nationally recognized varsity rugby team, and the campus’ response to growing federal pressure on universities.

“In the past, we’ve been able to break stories about corruption, we’ve been able to write stories about the administration,” Mattesich said. “Being independent means being able to truly report about what matters.”

Pulse publishes a quarterly, 80-page lifestyle magazine. Pulse covers all aspects of student life, Stuns added, from tips about student activities, finance and living spaces to features on campus buildings, organizations and community members.

“It was slightly before my time, but we’ve done stories on sexual assault and what students can do and how to make campus a safer place,” Stuns said.

Stuns and Mattesich said that maintaining an independent source of support through S&A funds is important to keeping campus institutions accountable. They said funding directly from the university could put the publications at risk of decision-making from university administrators.

Stuns said cutting S&A funding threatens the publications, which he feels is a form of censorship.

“In the past, we have been critical of the university,” Stuns said.

“This is the whole purpose of the First Amendment. This is checks and balances,” Mattesich added. “At its core, we are a check and a balance to Central Washington University. We hold them accountable and we can do that because we’re independent.”

Alumni who worked at the publications have gone on to journalism careers around the country. Mariah Valles, an alumnus and television producer based in Seattle, said what she learned at the Observer helped her get to where she is today.

“These publications help protect and promote student voices on campus. The Observer is about to celebrate 110 years. Are we really going to throw that down the drain?” she said.

“These aren’t just ‘student journalists.’ They’re real-deal reporters, who do incredible, hard-hitting investigative work and pound the pavement each week to cover their beats,” said Eric Rosane, a Tri-City Herald reporter and alumnus, in an email. “These are all tough stories – and without S&A funding would go uncovered, full stop.”

What is being proposed?

According to an article from the Ellensburg Daily Record, the S&A Committee was asked to cut 20% of its budget for student organizations. It proposed larger cuts to the Observer and Pulse.

The Daily Record reported that the S&A Committee said March 15 that the Observer violated the Killian Outline, a guide for permissible use of service and activity fees at campuses, because the fees are tied to a class.

Gomez-Vilchis and Klucking did not answer a question about how the Killian Outline applies to the situation.

A copy of the Killian Outline on the CWU website said using S&A fees on student publications is permissible.

Mattesich and Stuns said their publications use the S&A funding to pay for printing and website costs, awards and conferences and student salaries.

They said students already work above and beyond the hours they are paid to publish issues and serve their communities. Mattesich added that the Observer already proposed a reduced budget – $50,000 a year for the next four years – to meet budgetary needs.

Gomez-Vilchis said the S&A committee members consult with a professional staff adviser and a financial manager, and propose four-year budgets to the board of trustees.

“There will be a motion given to the board of trustees recommending that they approve the S&A committee proposal, agreed upon by the student-led committee. CWU President Jim Wohlpart and VP of Finance and Administration Joel Klucking ultimately sign off on that motion,” the statement from CWU administrators said.

Educational value

Campus-based publications also offer opportunities for hands-on learning. Stuns and Mattesich say students get experience interviewing, writing and reporting while learning grammar, vocabulary and style guides that are used in newsrooms across the country.

“I cannot think of any one class that has taught me even close to any of the skills I’ve learned at the Observer,” Mattesich said.

The editors in chief credited their experiences with giving them a passion for reporting and journalism. It’s given them paths into careers they hadn’t considered before.

They build skills and work samples that they can bring with them going forward and they do that while maintaining historical campus institutions.

“We pride ourselves on creating a professional product,” Stuns said. “Even though we’re student journalists, we’re journalists first.”