The Student Association Senate rejected a proposal, 14-2, on Wednesday from members of The Spectrum's editorial board that would allow a referendum on the SA general election ballot in March. The referendum would have allowed undergraduate students to vote on whether to raise The Spectrum Student Subscription Fee by $2 per semester.
The decision came after a lengthy discussion about the newspaper's financial jeopardy and possible alternatives to raising the subscription fee. According to The Spectrum's last audit report, the paper was $41,044 in debt at the close of the last fiscal year in July 2002.
Undergraduate students currently pay $1 per semester to The Spectrum Student Subscription Fee, equivalent to 2.5 cents per issue. If the referendum were allowed on the ballot, and students voted "yes," the fee would have been raised to $3 per semester, or 7.5 cents per issue.
"We did not want to make students pay more for our product, but as it is, we cannot keep going," said Sara Paulson, editor in chief of The Spectrum.
According to the SA Constitution, if The Spectrum can collect signatures from 10 percent of the undergraduate population, the referendum can still be placed on the ballot. Paulson said The Spectrum would pursue that option.
According to SA Senate Chairman Anthony Burgio, the senate was turned off by the proposed 200 percent increase in the subscription fee rather than the amount The Spectrum representatives requested.
"It is not necessarily the amount, but the increase in funding," said Burgio.
Lorenzo Guzman, the special interest, service and hobby clubs coordinator, said he felt obligated to uphold a promise the assembly made over two years ago, a sentiment that other senators echoed.
In November of 2000, the SA Assembly voted to raise the Student Activity Fee by $7.50, promising that the fee would not be raised for four more years.
According to Burgio - who said he was unaware of the Assembly's previous promise to students - the promise was the Assembly's responsibility to keep, although the legislative body passed the referendum on Feb. 18.
"Any Assembly member who was aware of this two years ago and voted on it would know that it is a contradiction," said Burgio.
"I think that (the senate) felt obligated by the former Assembly's obligation," Assemblywoman Victoria Boone said after the vote. "That is why the motion failed."
According to Paulson, the money generated from a fee increase would pay for printing costs incurred from the last two semesters that the publication owes.
In addition to the approximately $30,000 The Spectrum receives from student funds, $232,000 is generated from sales of local and national advertisements.
Due to the depressed economy after Sept. 11, 2001, fewer advertisers are buying space in the publication, and the loss in revenue is causing The Spectrum to suffer, said Paulson.
The senate also discussed whether The Spectrum could seek funding from the other student governments at UB.
"I definitely value The Spectrum," Burgio said. "I want to see it three times a week in the format that it is in, but it is appropriate and necessary to ask other governments."
Boone, who sat as a proxy for Sen. Adam Haney, was one of two members in attendance to vote in favor of passing the referendum.
"We were voting on whether or not to allow this to go to referendum for students to decide for themselves," Boone said. "This way we are not deciding for them."
Guzman said undergraduates should not have to pay the bill if The Spectrum continues to cover events sponsored by organizations from other UB schools.
"Right now, only undergraduates are funding The Spectrum," Guzman said. "If we are paying for something, we do not want to fund other schools, and they do not want to fund us."
Paulson said The Spectrum has approached the Graduate Student Association about contributing to the paper, but while the organization responded positively, nothing has been confirmed.
According to Michael Monahan, creative director of The Spectrum, besides using out-of-date operating systems on crash-prone computers, the publication has only eight computers for a staff of roughly 70 people.
"It makes it extremely hard to get everything done," said Monahan.
Sen. Yesenia Diaz suggested discontinuing The Spectrum's subscription to national news wire services to save money, opting instead to utilize the space for free SA club advertisements.
If wire services were discontinued, Paulson said, The Spectrum would not be able to cover important national events such as Sept. 11, 2001, and the national presidential election.
"Every newspaper in the world subscribes to wire service, and we would be doing students an injustice if we did not provide that," she said.
As a way of compensating for the technological problems, the senate suggested The Spectrum consider seeking corporate sponsorship or soliciting donations of computer equipment.
"We will not accept money if it is going to compromise our journalistic integrity," said Paulson.
Erin Shultz, campus news editor, pointed out that since UB currently has no journalism program, the newspaper is one of the only opportunities available to students interested in the field to get hands-on experience.
Students' opinions on the issues varied.
Holly Sweitzer, a senior physical geography major, said she picks up the paper to read when she is bored.
"I think the increase is worth it," said Sweitzer. "I see a lot of other students making use out of (The Spectrum)."
Vanessa Coley, a junior business management major, said she mostly reads the paper during the football season, but she said it is important to have a school newspaper as long as there is no additional cost to students.
"I know they were talking about raising tuition, so I am really not thrilled about paying anything extra," said Coley.
Shultz said The Spectrum has already begun petitioning.
"It means enough to us that we will take our staff out and get 2,000 signatures," said Paulson.
As of Thursday night, The Spectrum had collected 956 signatures.
In other business, the Senate denied the Russian Student Association's request for permanent club status.
The club, which was founded in September of 2001, has held temporary status for the past year-and-a-half that it has been in existence.
"I think they based their judgment on past performance," said Russian SA President Natasha Danilina. "I am not disappointed about being rejected, but (I) would like to know what I should do in the future to be accepted."
