WOLFVILLE, N.S. — Past and present Acadia University student journalists are speaking out against the potential defunding of student media, including The Athenaeum newspaper and Axe Radio.
They see it as the possible loss of an independent student voice on campus.
Acadia alumnus Colin Mitchell recently wrote and circulated a letter in support of the university’s student media titled “The End of The Athenaeum is Near.” Several past and present students have added their names to the correspondence.
Rylie Moscato, current editor-in-chief of The Athenaeum, said the possibility of being defunded came as a surprise to her. She learned of it after reading a report brought back by a journalist who covered a recent student representative council meeting.
“I think it is important to note that it was just a conversation rather than an official motion when we heard about it,” Moscato said.
She said it sounded as though the SRC members who proposed it were considering making such a motion the following week, but there has been nothing official to date.
“It definitely stirred up a lot of anger, I think, from both the alumni and the current students,” Moscato said.
She pointed out that student media supporters had the opportunity to attend a recent SRC meeting to express their discontent with the council. Moscato said there was “some negative pushback” from the SRC but she believes there will be further conversations about it moving forward.
She said perhaps the best option is to hold a referendum to hear directly from the student body on the matter and perhaps shut down any move toward defunding.
Moscato said she believes the SRC is willing to work with them to find a solution, but she thinks the way the conversation was started created a problem.
ASU responds
In a written statement on behalf of the Acadia Students’ Union (ASU), president Brendan MacNeil said the ASU supports student media and empowering their student voices.
They would like to clarify that the discussions surrounding Axe Radio and The Athenaeum were not brought forth to council as a motion, nor is there any motion currently on the table.
Rather, it was brought forward as a discussion item relating to larger conversations examining the current structure and funding mechanisms for student-led groups within the ASU, and how to best meet student needs.
“Following this discussion at SRC and conversations with current and past contributors to The Athenaeum and Axe Radio, we have begun the consultation process with students to better understand how we can do this while ensuring student media continues to be shared freely on campus,” MacNeil wrote.
He said the ASU is fully committed to maintaining an open dialogue with the appropriate student representatives in identifying the best path forward.
Independent voice
If The Athenaeum and Axe Radio no longer receive line-item budget funding from the ASU, they would essentially drop from internal organization status to clubs. As clubs, they would have to apply to the SRC annually for grant funding.
Moscato said she doesn’t believe this would bode well for student media in terms of its ability to maintain an independent voice. If they’re defunded and can’t access grants, she said this could lead to the shutdown of student media at Acadia and “our student voice being silenced.”
She said it’s extremely important for student media at the university to have an independent voice. In her three years involved with The Athenaeum, she said there have been multiple articles calling out the university and ASU on various important issues.
“If we aren’t here, who else is going to speak out against big institutions and feel safe in doing so?” Moscato said.
She said The Athenaeum’s annual budget has already been reduced significantly in recent years, dropping from $10,000 to $8,500 and then $5,500. Moscato said this has made her job increasingly difficult.
Importance of funding
She said that when it comes to student journalism, there are passionate people who would work for free but being able to offer honoraria is certainly an enticement. This is the case for students who are busy fulfilling course requirements.
Moscato said they need funding to be able to produce print editions, which she said are important community unifiers in Wolfville. The Athenaeum wouldn’t have as wide a community reach without the hard copies.
Moscato said they are releasing an emergency print edition, which is being funded by alumni who have been angered by the potential defunding, to raise greater awareness of the situation.
She believes students rely on the paper to be informed about what is happening on campus and it’s an important forum for holding the university and student government accountable for decisions. Without the paper, alumni would also lose an important connection to the university.
Mitchell: ‘Dangerous precedent’
Mitchell, the author of the letter, said that defunding The Athenaeum and Axe Radio would say that the students’ union cares little about student media and free press on campus. He said this would set a dangerous precedent for defunding other essential services run by the ASU.
“This is not the first time The Ath has been under pressure, but it underscores the need for a new relationship — both structural and financial — with the Acadia Students’ Union,” Mitchell said.
He said the student newspaper, which has existed for 147 years, serves a public good and is the voice of Acadia students past and present. The Athenaeum and Axe Radio provide students with the opportunity to hone their writing, research, public speaking and journalism skills, which is important in the absence of a dedicated journalism program at Acadia.
Mitchell said working for either internal organization provides students with the opportunity to add concrete work experience to their resumes that is conferred by the internal organization status, as opposed to having them as clubs. He said the fact that contributors are paid adds legitimacy in the eyes of future employers.
End of student media?
Mitchell said his experience as a contributor, photographer, news editor and editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2019 taught him that “if the ASU is unhappy with their coverage they’ll happily slash budgets.”
He said if The Athenaeum and Axe Radio were clubs, they probably wouldn’t see their grant applications approved, “spelling their death sentence.”
He said cutting the roughly $8,000 annually that The Athenaeum and Axe Radio operate on would not fix the ASU’s structural deficit, and the ASU is a non-profit organization designed to operate at the break-even point or with a deficit.
“If one wishes to discuss solutions to help the ASU out of its deficit, one should start with conversations around student fees and pay rather than cutting the only outlets of expression,” Mitchell said.
He said anyone who wants to make their feelings known can contribute to The Athenaeum Journalism Award to fund student journalists; add their name to his letter, which more than 80 current and former students have signed, or email the ASU executive to voice their concerns directly to the cabinet creating the budget. Mitchell has included contact information for SRC members in his letter.
Read Mitchell’s letter online.
