On behalf of the Branding Iron, I would like to start by thanking all of you for reading this right now. Without our readers, there would be no paper. I and the rest of our staff here at the BI have greatly enjoyed bringing you real and up-to-date news on some of the most important happenings on this campus. From the online edition to our planners to our outdoors magazine Frontiers, we at Student Media have a variety of projects the community enjoys. In addition, we are working towards the opening of our brand new studio, something that simply would not be possible without the immense support we have received.
With all of that said, I would now like to address you, our readers, as me, our BI Editor-in-Chief. My name is Ven Meester, and before I was here, I was a member of the student government. It has been one of my utmost priorities this year to try to rebuild Student Media’s relationship with ASUW and to support them whenever possible. That being said, I do not feel I have properly done my duty in holding them accountable this year.
ASUW is an egregiously poorly managed organization that has one of the worst retention rates on this campus. I passed a constitutional change last year that was then voted on by the student body, and yet was not added to their constitution, with no reasons as to why, and no justification. Their documents are riddled with contradictions and their entire body has been dominated by voting blocks and aspiring politicians. Beyond the few initiatives they have attempted to jumpstart, they have accomplished almost nothing in the eyes of the student body the entire semester, with a majority of their legislation being small and internally focused. For years ASUW has had this problem. From the audit last year, to potential lawsuits, and resignations from most of their senior members, they have failed to represent the student voice for a long time.
This year, with false information and unsubstantiated claims at their disposal, the student government Tuition Allocation and Student Fee Committee proposed cutting the Honor’s College student fee by a drastic 25% and Student Media’s fee by 75%. After a presentation by the Honor’s College clarifying information, this 25% cut was remediated. Meanwhile, the Student Media cut justification was changed from content and editorial criticisms, that included false information, to further editorial criticisms, that also contained provably false information, and settled on a justification that used the carryover account as primary reasoning. In reality, ASUW, both this year and last year, have violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment. They are trying to dictate content and editorial choices and the only reason they changed their justifications this year and last year is the fear of a First Amendment Lawsuit.
A variety of quotations from members of the student government who I will not directly name from both this year’s and last year’s meeting broadcasts claim that “The ASUW Student Fee Review Committee voted to decrease the Student Media student fee by 15% to $18 due to poor performance and wasted advertisement space that could be better used by more articles,” “Much of the paper is advertisements, that were not run during the summer, and the number of errors is egregious for a college-level newspaper,” and “so let’s pass this 75% cut, the VP and I will take it to Central Fee Committee, it probably won’t get cut 75%, but that is just to show how concerned the committee was about this fee.”
We received an email from a senator who claimed they knew better than us about interview practices and how we ought to run our paper. Last year, as a member of ASUW, I can testify that this entire fee-cut situation is driven by vendetta. We were frustrated that ASUW’s name was being dragged through the dirt and we targeted Student Media because of it. Now, as Editor-in-Chief, I have tried my best to be kind and patient with ASUW because I know how hard it is to run that organization.
I would now take this time to offer some quotations from members of Student Media on this proposed 75% fee cut. I will first offer that if this fee cut goes through, we will have to cut most of our staff, and the print edition will cease to exist. With no print edition, our advertising revenue will die, and the entire Student Media department will essentially be destroyed, with no way of rebuilding the relationships and connections that keep this department alive. ASUW’s biggest, most impactful decision of this semester, could destroy a media organization that has been alive at this university for over 100 years.
Mason Riding, Sports Editor- “As a journalism major who hopes to have a sports beat in the future, Student Media has provided me with incredible opportunities to work closely with University of Wyoming athletics and build my skillset and confidence in the journalism field in a way that no class on campus is capable of doing. By cutting the Student Media budget by 75%, you are taking away the opportunity students have to chase their dreams and be able to experience the journalism field firsthand.”
Maddy Huffman, Frontiers Editor- “The best decision I made my freshman year of college was joining the Student Media staff. I started with Student Media as a social media marketer and from there became the Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers magazine. With Student Media, I am able to learn skills that I would not have been able to learn in the classroom. These careers often involve going out and doing and that is what Student Media provides to its employees and contributors, the experience. Student Media has provided me with the opportunity to produce a magazine that allows people to share about the great outdoors, make connections with professionals in my field, make connections with people around campus and in the community, along with giving me a group of like-minded individuals. I have grown so much in the communication, and marketing career field while working at Student Media. With the cuts to the student fees for Student Media, it affects the real-life experience that students like myself gain working from Student Media. Student Media not only provides these experiences to its employees but also the people whose work is published at Student Media. Student Media is vital to proividing real-life work experience to students in a way that is outside of the classroom, and this will be greatly affected with the budget cuts that are to come.”
Studio Crew Mike Gremp and Dylan Pierce- “With regards to the fee cuts coming toward student fees and its application to Student Media, it makes no logical sense when even the ASUW members didn’t even think the 75% cut would be logical to keep pursuing. For the studio side of things, we will not be able to keep the funding to efficiently run our weekly broadcasts that we are planning on initiating release mid to late March. Also, we need funds to be able to hire professional as well as competent people to run our studio and pay them decently. We will also need to be able to have the opportunity to acquire new equipment in case of other emergencies like the flood that occurred a year and a half ago or in case any of our equipment breaks or needs to be updated. Hopefully, the fee committee doesn’t cut our funds by 75%.”
I support ASUW when they do things that are right for the students. We at Student Media make sure their initiatives, like Band in the Sand, No More Empty Saddles, and Movember are front and center. I am not a man who takes hard stances, but as the editor of this newspaper, and as an advocate for both free speech and the constitution, I have been left with no choice but to publish this editorial, on behalf of all of us here at Student Media. I was told by ASUW and by Student Media that we ought to be holding ASUW accountable for their actions. I implore you all, as readers, to hold them accountable for trying to destroy the forum of free speech this campus needs.
