Spring Break
Flip Side funding appeal denied
Finance Commission cites multiple reasons for decision
Alison Pelleymounter
Issue date: 12/9/04 Section: Campus News
At the meeting, commission member Dawn Snyder said that in its appeal, The Flip Side did not address the correct reasons the commission was reluctant to fund it. While the organization viewed it as a free speech issue, the commission had other concerns.
"(Free speech) is not the issue to the commission," she said. "I think the issue is The Flip Side doesn't always have their stuff together. ... I feel like you weren't on top of things."
Snyder was referring, in part, to the news magazine's failure to turn in its budget proposal by the Oct. 25 deadline, as the proposal was not received until the next day. Despite the late proposal, Wisnefske decided the commission would hear the publication's request for funding.
At Tuesday's meeting, managing editor of The Flip Side Justin Greif presented the commission with a petition signed by 503 students supporting the periodical's funding.
Schneider said while the petition does support the merit of The Flip Side on Eau Claire's campus, she feels the publication still needs to prove to Student Senate that they are worthy of student funding.
The Flip Side, now in its second year, is currently funded by a grant provided by the Omidyar Foundation, a philanthropic foundation that invests in community media projects around the country, according to its Web site.
The publication received $4,000 from the foundation this year and $3,000 last year, according to its budget proposal. It will not receive funds from Omidyar next year.
Flip Side staff positions are unpaid and all revenue, including $1,500 from advertising, is used for the distribution of 2,000 circulated copies.
Some members of the commission expressed concern with the possible ideological sway of The Flip Side. The news magazine, which is affiliated with the Progressive Student Association, may not allow for content-neutrality, Wisnefske said.
"The problem I have is not so much that you guys are ideological," he said. "We have traditionally not funded organizations that we believe to be ideological."
Although The Flip Side and PSA's connection will expire in May, he expressed concern about the partnership still being well-known at that time.
Wisnefske said while it is not written into Student Senate's bylaws right now, he hopes to define whether or not an ideological organization can receive student segregated funds next semester.
"I'm hoping that Finance Commission will write that the position of the Eau Claire Student Senate is that the Finance Commission will not fund any group that has an ideological purpose," he said. "We want to exclude any groups that would be religious in nature, political in nature or anything that would have a political agenda (from being funded through student segregated fees)."
"(Free speech) is not the issue to the commission," she said. "I think the issue is The Flip Side doesn't always have their stuff together. ... I feel like you weren't on top of things."
Snyder was referring, in part, to the news magazine's failure to turn in its budget proposal by the Oct. 25 deadline, as the proposal was not received until the next day. Despite the late proposal, Wisnefske decided the commission would hear the publication's request for funding.
At Tuesday's meeting, managing editor of The Flip Side Justin Greif presented the commission with a petition signed by 503 students supporting the periodical's funding.
Schneider said while the petition does support the merit of The Flip Side on Eau Claire's campus, she feels the publication still needs to prove to Student Senate that they are worthy of student funding.
The Flip Side, now in its second year, is currently funded by a grant provided by the Omidyar Foundation, a philanthropic foundation that invests in community media projects around the country, according to its Web site.
The publication received $4,000 from the foundation this year and $3,000 last year, according to its budget proposal. It will not receive funds from Omidyar next year.
Flip Side staff positions are unpaid and all revenue, including $1,500 from advertising, is used for the distribution of 2,000 circulated copies.
Some members of the commission expressed concern with the possible ideological sway of The Flip Side. The news magazine, which is affiliated with the Progressive Student Association, may not allow for content-neutrality, Wisnefske said.
"The problem I have is not so much that you guys are ideological," he said. "We have traditionally not funded organizations that we believe to be ideological."
Although The Flip Side and PSA's connection will expire in May, he expressed concern about the partnership still being well-known at that time.
Wisnefske said while it is not written into Student Senate's bylaws right now, he hopes to define whether or not an ideological organization can receive student segregated funds next semester.
"I'm hoping that Finance Commission will write that the position of the Eau Claire Student Senate is that the Finance Commission will not fund any group that has an ideological purpose," he said. "We want to exclude any groups that would be religious in nature, political in nature or anything that would have a political agenda (from being funded through student segregated fees)."