Budget cuts threaten Salt Lake Community College student newspaper The Globe

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake Community College's student newspaper may be in danger of shutting down after the school's Student Fee Board recommended cutting the paper's funding allocation in half.

The proposal was approved by the state Board of Regents Thursday as part of statewide changes to higher education student fees. The community college's annual student fee plan was already approved by the college president's cabinet and the trustees in March.

After the regents' vote, college President Cynthia Bioteau defended the cut as a student decision.

"That (student fee) board is made up of students for students," she said. "They had to make decisions and choose between many different student activities that came to them for funding."

But for student and professional journalists, the cut represents more than just the loss of money.

"It's a tragedy. It's heartbreaking for the college on a number of levels," said Allison Barlow Hess, president of Utah's Society of Professional Journalists. She is also the adviser of Weber State University's student newspaper, The Signpost.

Hess points out student journalists need the experience of running a newspaper at a college level. Further, the paper serves as a historical record, a voice for students and a forum for the college to communicate with itself and others.

The community college's weekly paper, The Globe, generally receives $1 per full-time student equivalent to add to its other funding sources, which include ad revenue. The allocation is now 50 cents — a total decrease of approximately $20,000.

"It affects our newspaper in a big way," said Ani Arakelian, Globe editor-in-chief. Arakelian said she believes the paper could survive possibly until next spring on the low funding. After that, The Globe would be in the red and may have to fold.

"I've put my heart and soul into this paper, and it feels like a slap in the face," she said.

However, student senator Nicholas Ferre, a member of the Student Fee Board and The Globe Media Council, said the board feels the paper needs to increase readership and run more articles focusing on students before it asks for funding. If the paper can become "a publication that students are screaming to pick up off the rack," then maybe the college will fulfill The Globe's funding request, Ferre said.