The Student Media Board discussed a revised operating procedure for the Union Weekly and will present it to Associated Students Inc. Wednesday, taking into account a controversial article published in a March issue of the student publication.
“Basically, we want to better define the duties and responsibilities of Student Media,” said Richard Haller, executive director of ASI.
On March 14, the Union Weekly printed then-City Editor Noah Kelly’s article “Pow Wow Wow Yippee Yo Yippy Yay,” a review of the annual Pow Wow on campus.
Critics declared it racist and culturally insensitive and protesters, including the American Indian Student Council, rallied for ASI to cease funding the student publication.
John Trapper, general manager of KBEACH, a student-operated radio service, observed that the Pow Wow controversy has attracted Union Weekly critics into applying for student-at-large positions in ASI.
According to Haller, a student-at-large representative can recommend to recall editors in chief or station managers by a two-thirds vote from voting members of the Student Media Board.
Under the proposed policy revisions, their proposition to recall someone cannot be voted on unless whoever presents it can properly justify his or her intentions.
The procedural revisions would also prohibit Student Media advisors from actively participating on the governing board.
“They’ve [Union Weekly] taken quite a beating over the years,” Trapper said, defending their First Amendment rights. “They need influence over their board.”
Additionally, the Long Beach Union revised operating procedures would define what a grievance is. If a student believes an article is obscene, libelous or slanderous, a grievance form in the ASI government office would enable the filer to list the date, article and the grounds for objection.
According to Sylvana Cicero, University Student Union assistant director of programs, grievance forms would encourage Union Weekly writers, as well as other Student Media outlets, to maintain a code of ethics.
Chelsea Stevens, editor-in-chief of the Union Weekly, reported to the Student Media Board that the Union Weekly has yet to face any controversies this semester. However, there has been a dip in writer participation, presumably due to midterms, she said.
With KBeach moving to FM radio, Trapper suggested students should now be required to undergo training and conduct themselves professionally over the radio.
However, he does not suggest that students follow the same standard as popular stations such as KISS FM.
“Listen to other colleges,” Trapper said. “The standard isn’t that high. It just needs to be FCC compliant.”
Currently KBeach is not FFC compliant. Trapper suspects that along with student training, a delay box could be the solution. He gave an example where a guest clinician “dropped an F bomb” on the show “Sex at the Beach.” A delay box would create an ample gap between recording and airtime for editing flubs and mistakes.
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