ASUCLA wants new financial agreement with Student Media

The original version of this article contained information that was unclear and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.

Associated Students UCLA officials recently drafted a proposal to enter into a new temporary financial agreement with UCLA Student Media, an offer which has garnered mixed reactions.

UCLA Student Media consists of the Daily Bruin, BruinLife yearbook, UCLA Radio and seven newsmagazines. It is overseen by the UCLA Communications Board, an independent subset of ASUCLA.

Student Media has run a deficit of about $100,000 a year for the past five years and reserve funds have paid for this deficit. In 2008, Student Media held $614,000 in cash reserves, now the organization’s cash reserves sit at just more than $118,000, said Arvli Ward, director of UCLA Student Media.

This five-year period of deficit has largely been the result of a drastic decrease in print advertising revenues, which has been reflected both locally and nationally, Ward said.

Student Media pays ASUCLA for some operational costs, including renting a space in Kerckhoff Hall and providing salaries and benefits for three full-time professional employees.

In the last year, one professional staff member resigned and the department laid off three professional employees. As a result of the staff reductions, the monthly cost of professional employee salaries has decreased by almost half.

Though this reduces the long-term cost of operating Student Media, because of the layoffs the department has had to pay about $60,000 in severance payments. These payments have reduced the department’s available cash, making it difficult to pay recent monthly costs to ASUCLA.

Since August, the ASUCLA Board of Directors has allowed Student Media to defer its payments temporarily.

ASUCLA officials have expressed concern that these deferments are not formalized. The proposed agreement is an attempt to officially document and regulate the deferred payments.

In the agreement, ASUCLA proposes to give a $200,000 line of credit to the UCLA Communications Board. The board would need to repay this loan within a two-year period and pay an annual 2 percent interest rate on it. This means that the Communications Board may choose how much of the $200,000 it withdraws to pay ASUCLA and would only be charged interest on the amount withdrawn. These interest payments would be due monthly.

ASUCLA would send the Communications Board written notification if it violates any terms of the agreement, such as failing to repay the loan by the end of the two-year period. After receiving this notification, the Communications Board has 15 days to give ASUCLA a proposal outlining how it intends to fix its mistake.

But, if ASUCLA deems the proposed fix to be unfeasible or if the Communications Board does not submit a proposed remedy, the ASUCLA Board of Directors would appoint enough additional voting members to the Communications Board to create an ASUCLA-majority representation.

David Zeke, a graduate representative on the ASUCLA Board of Directors and the chair of the ASUCLA Finance Committee, said ASUCLA is pushing for a formal contract because the Board of Directors must ensure that student funds are wisely spent.

He added that he supports the Communications Board, which he said is a valuable part of ASUCLA.

Zeke said he hopes the ASUCLA Board of Directors passes a revised version of the current proposal.

He added that the outcome of the vote depends on the feedback the ASUCLA board receives from the Communications Board.

Erik Peña, chair of the Communications Board and a graduate student in Latin American studies, said he does not support the current draft of the agreement with ASUCLA. He added that he is concerned largely because of the stipulation that the ASUCLA board would have the ability to add members to the Communications Board if the rules of the agreement were not followed.

The Communications Board received this proposed agreement last week, and Peña said he believes the campus community needs more time to learn about the agreement before the board votes on whether to approve it.

He added that he hopes the ASUCLA Board of Directors will decide to extend the deferment of Student Media payments so that both sides can invest more time into drafting a compromise.

Bob Williams, executive director of ASUCLA, said he hopes ASUCLA never reaches the point where it will have to take control of the Communications Board, and he is in the process of altering the language of the agreement. He will present his revised agreement at the Feb. 28 ASUCLA Board of Directors meeting.

“In the end we are going to make sure that Student Media is alive and kicking. We are going to make sure that they have the money that they need to keep operating,” he said.

Ward said the Communications Board would not be able to afford the payment plan outlined in the current version of the agreement, and he hopes ASUCLA modifies the plan in the revised proposal.

He added that he is worried about Student Media becoming subject to ASUCLA’s jurisdiction if the Communications Board failed to comply with any of the agreement’s policies.

“The potential loss of independence from the board is something I am very concerned about,” Ward said.

Other members of UCLA Student Media echoed Ward’s sentiments about the proposed agreement.

Jillian Beck, the editor in chief of the Daily Bruin, said Student Media’s independence is the most fundamental part of the Bruin’s journalistic mission.

“Even though the (reappointment clause) is a last resort, the fact that our independence could ever be compromised is not OK with us,” Beck said. “Our role as the campus newspaper cannot be compromised and we will not stand for it.”

At the Board of Directors meeting Feb. 28, ASUCLA board members will vote on whether to pass the current agreement, a revised version of the agreement or to extend the current deferments, which will cease at the end of the month as well.

Clarification: Under the new financial agreement, the Communications Board will pay an annual interest rate of 2 percent on the amount they withdraw. These interest payments will be due monthly.