Collegiate Readership Program to return in March

It’s official; the Collegiate Readership Program will return on March 13 when locked… It’s official; the Collegiate Readership Program will return on March 13 when locked newsstands will arrive on Pitt’s campus filled with copies of The New York Times and USA Today.

At Tuesday night’s Student Government Board meeting in Nordy’s Place, the Board voted to approve the program that it voted to halt a month ago. The reinstatement of the program came after a month of student outcry following the initial decision by the Board to stop the program over winter break. The Collegiate Readership Program will cost non-College of General Studies students $33,600 from the Student Activities Fund.

But the vote did not come without controversy.

Initially, the Allocations Committee recommended that the Board deny the request for funding in full, because it did not fit within “the purpose of allocations.” But Board member Gordon Louderback proposed an amendment to fund the full $33,600 cost of the program.

“We have been talking about this program for over a month,” Board President James Landreneau said. “It is a daily program for students.”

The motion to approve the program passed with a 6-2 vote — Board members Alex Murdoch and Halim Genus voted against the program’s reinstatement.

The program’s $33,600 cost is a $3,100 increase over the price of the program during its pilot stage, because The New York Times raised its price per paper by 10 cents.

Board member Julie Hallinan moved to amend the motion to fund the Collegiate Readership Program’s return within a week and a half for an additional $6,000. The Board voted against the motion with a 2-6 vote — Hallinan and Board member Zoe Samudzi voted in favor of immediate reinstatement.

Immediate reinstatement would have brought the newspapers back to unlocked newstands in about a week. The program was halted because it could not bar the public, faculty, graduates and College of General Studies students from taking the newspapers paid for by the Student Activities Fee, which only non-College of General Studies undergraduate students pay. The incoming locked boxes will have student ID readers that will ensure that non-students won’t have access to the papers — but graduate students and CGS students might.

Earlier in the meeting, during Allocations requests, the African Student Organization withdrew a request for $10,079.14 after a lengthy and heated discussion between representatives of the organization and the Board.

The organization requested the money to fund an event that would include bringing in comedian Don’t Jealous Me from England.

The Allocations Committee recommended that the Board approve $2,689.70 to cover the cost of three designers for the honorarium, and their airfare, ground transportation and lodging. The committee recommended the Board deny $7,389.44 for two acrobats and all costs associated with the comedian Don’t Jealous Me, along with supplies and decorations for the event.

Much of the discussion revolved around a blacked-out line of an email between the email between the Wazobia Planning Committee and Don’t Jealous Me. The email was turned in as part of the documentation for the request, and Allocations chair Mike Nites said the blacked out line was still legible.

“It was easy to see what was blacked out,” Nites said.

Nites said the email asked the comedian to add the cost of his international travel into the price of his contract, because the Board cannot provide funds for international travel.

The documentation, two emails between the planning committee and the comedian, was printed on the same page. In the second email, the comedian increased the cost of his contract to accommodate for international travel.

Dina said that the group was asked to black out the line, but she would not disclose who told the group to redact the line.

Nites said that he found out that someone encouraged ASO to redact the line from the email. Nites said that while he knows who the individual is, he would not release the person’s name. He and Dina both said that the person who encouraged Dina to redact the line was the group’s liaison on the Allocations Committee.

“Anyone who tries to loophole lies not only to the Allocations Committee, but to everyone who pays the Student Activities Fee,” Hallinan said.

During the open floor segment of the meeting, Genus said that he apologized for the Board acting in an “accusatory” manner toward the ASO during the question segment of the request.

The request was withdrawn after Landreneau and Murdoch recommended it be dropped.

President Landreneau said that his campaign initiative to create a town hall forum on Pitt’s campus will come to fruition next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Nordy’s Place. He said pizza would be provided.

Allocations

Amnesty International requested $50 for organization dues for the year. The Allocations Committee approved the request in full.

Alpha Kappa Psi requested $794.10 for a conference. The Board denied the request in full in line with the Allocations recommendation because it does not normally fund case studies and the competition included a portion where the students could receive a money prize.

Pitt Women’s Volleyball Club requested $462 for a competition expenses. The Allocations Committee approved the request in full.

Pitt Women’s Volleyball Club’s requested $5,510. The Board approved $5,460 and denied $50 for a miscalculation in registration.

Panther Wrestling Club requested $636.60 for a conference. The Board approved the request in full.

Muslim Student Association requested $500 for food at a cultural event. The request was approved in full by the Allocations Committee.

The Pittiful News requested $900 to print 700 copies of their paper on newsprint once a month. The Board approved the request in full in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Pitt Pendulums requested $2,348.64 to pay for a conference and two nights of lodging. The Board approved $1,702.32 for the conference and one night of lodging and denied the remaining $646.32.

Men’s Ultimate Frisbee requested $2,440 to pay for 26 people to attend a competition. The Board approved $1,424 for 14 members of the team and denied $1,016 for the other 12 members.

Editors note: The original version of this story misstated where Don’t Jealous Me is from and the Allocation Committee’s recommendation to the Board. It also misstated the author of an email sent from the Wazobia Planning Committee of the African Student Organization. It also misstated the identity of the person who blacked out a line in that email, and the person who advised the African Student Organization to do so.