In response to last week’s Student Senate meeting controversy over The Spectator receiving free The Big Wu concert tickets in exchange for free advertising, editor in chief Leah Thorsen chose to utilize open forum at Monday’s meeting in an attempt to clear up the dispute.
“Newspapers have been known to do this,” Thorsen said. “We can sponsor off-campus activities or events. It’s a way for us to get our name out there. It sets up a good connection for us to continue advertising with The State.”
The Big Wu wasn’t charged for six quarter-page ads and one half-page ad in The Spectator’s issues leading up to The Big Wu’s Oct. 3 concert at The State Regional Arts Center, 316 Eau Claire St.
In return, The Spectator saw its name advertised on tickets, ads throughout town, on posters and on the marquee to promote the concert. The Spectator also received 35 free concert tickets as what Thorsen called, “an incentive.”
Thorsen said she was a little disturbed to find out that Senate was discussing the issue in its meeting last week without discussing it with The Spectator first.
Finance Commission Director Nate Otto said he is left with more questions than answers after what he called a miscommunication. Otto said that on one end of the spectrum, The Spectator was given a lump some of money to do whatever they wanted with. On the other end, Student Senate has the ability to micro-manage how much money each campus-sponsored group should receive.
At Monday’s Senate meeting, Otto suggested The Spectator and the Finance Commission meet in the near future to “set general guidelines to make sure miscommunications like this don’t happen again.”
Otto said The Spectator shouldn’t take all the blame for the controversy. “It is as much the Senate’s fault for not having such guidelines as it is The Spectator’s,” he said.
In the upcoming Nov. 7-8 budget hearings, Thorsen said The Spectator will be asking for $9,000 as opposed to last year’s request of $18,000. Because The Spectator is asking for half of what it did in last year’s budget, Thorsen said The Spectator cannot be looked at as throwing away student segregated fees.
Otto said that he can’t speak for how the Senate is going to vote on how much money The Spectator will receive after this year’s Nov. 7-8 budget hearings.
“I encourage the Senate to see the budget as it is and not pick out The Spectator,” Otto said.