KAMP Student Radio is facing a campaign time crunch as they try to gather enough student support for a $1 fee referendum that will be on the ASUA ballot in March.
KAMP has had to garner student support every five years, since they officially became part of Arizona Student Media ten years ago, said Karl Goranowski, general manager for KAMP.
The student fee is used to support the general upkeep of KAMP, from paying for use of the studio in the Park Student Union to improving equipment and broadcast technology.
From 2003-07, KAMP received a total of $332,632 from the student fee.
Last December, the Arizona Board of Regents approved a student’s activity fee that will be phased in over two years. Beginning fall 2008, the fee will be $40 a semester, and it will double the following year.
The fee was never voted on by the student body, but over 5,000 student responses collected from two tuition surveys issued last fall indicated students supported the fee.
The survey also showed how much students were willing to pay and in which top five programs they’d like funded by the fee.
KAMP was not among the top five selected.
KAMP resents the fee was passed at the regents meeting without first being put before the student body.
“”The student government didn’t have to acquire student support for their (student activities) fee, and now it’s saying KAMP shouldn’t be covered under it, so there is that disappointment,”” said Mark Woodhams, director of Arizona Student Media.
Traditionally low student voter turnout in previous referendum’s and the large dollar amount of the fee influenced the Associated Students of the University of Arizona’s decision to conduct a student survey instead of a vote.
A fee can go forward through referendum, UA administrative initiative or student vote. The regents only want to see the level of student support and was the reason the survey was conducted, said Tommy Bruce, president of ASUA.
“”After the fee was passed, there was a lot of discussion saying that we should hold up on pursuing the student fee, because we hoped that KAMP would become funded through the student activities fee,”” Woodhams said.
Goranowski echoes his sentiment.
“”Every conversation we had made it sound like we were 100 percent covered by the fee,”” Goranowski said. “”About two weeks ago we found out that we wouldn’t be covered by that fee, so we are having to campaign for student support in less time had we not had that confusion.””
Bruce said no funding guarantee from the student activities fee was ever issued to KAMP or any other organization.
If the KAMP fee is not approved this year, the organization will struggle to stay afloat, and likely lose all broadcast ability, said Leah Durnin, news director for KAMP.
Students overwhelmingly supported the fee the past two times it has been on the ballot. The last referendum in 2003 was approved by 75 percent of the student body.
Still, KAMP officials wish they hadn’t invested hope in the student activities fee so that they would have had more time to promote and market the $1 student fee appearing on next month’s ballot.
“”We have a united team here at KAMP so really it is less time but we just have to get the word out there and hope students will support it, since it is in their best benefit, given that KAMP is a student-run organization,”” Durnin said.
