Texas Student Publications

Board of Operating Trustees

January 26, 2001

Minutes

Voting members present: George Castillo, Craig Daniel, Dave Garlock, Don Heider, Natalie Mayrath, Natasha Solce, Senyo Tse. Stephen Little [attending via telephone].

Voting members absent: Sara Beechner, Ariel Santschi, Doug Toney.

Non-voting members present: Margarita Arellano, Jenny Hager, Michael Hoffman, Jennie Kennedy, Kathy Lawrence, Rosa Madriz, Cecily Sailer, Stephen Silver, Ben Stroud.

Professional staff present: Mary Felps, Richard Finnell, Beverly Fisher, John Foxworth, Evelyn Gardner, Jean Hogue, Dan Knight, Steve Metze, Doug Plummer, Jerry Thompson.

Visitors present: Patrick Badgley, Kristin Carlisle, Chris Coats, Matt Cook, Brian J. Ferguson, Kristin Finan, Matt Hammond, Jesse Harris, Jeff Hipp, Jason Hunter, Andrew Loehman, Russell Lorfing, Marshall Maher, Laura Ongaro, Jennifer Pollack, Travis Richmond, Shawn Rosenzweig, David Sessions, Jennfier Valentino, Devon Wayne, Brian Wellborn, Amanda Zamora.

The meeting was called to order at 3:10 p.m. by Solce, Board president. Solce said she would entertain a motion to rearrange the meeting agenda in order to discuss item 2, New Business, first.

MOTION NO. 1: Castillo moved to rearrange the order of the meeting agenda in order to discuss item 2, New Business, first. The motion passed.

I. Certification of TSPBoard Candidates.

A. Student Member At-Large, Places 2 and 3.

MOTIONNO. 2: Castillo moved to certify the application of Devon Wayne for the Student Member At-large, Place 2 position, on the TSPBoard. The motion passed.

MOTIONNO. 3: Castillo moved to certify the application of Michael Hoffman for the Student Member At-Large, Place 2 position, on the TSPBoard. The motion passed.

MOTIONNO. 4: Heider moved to certify the application of Russell Lorfing for the Student Member At-large, Place 3 position, on the TSPBoard. The motion passed.

MOTIONNO. 5: Castillo moved to certify the application of Shawn Rosenzweig for the Student Member At-large Place 3 position, on the TSPBoard. The motion passed.

B. Student Member from College of Communication, Place 1.

MOTIONNO. 6: Castillo moved to certify the application of Patrick Badgley for the Student Member from the College of Communication, Place 1 position, on the TSPBoard. The motion passed.

MOTIONNO. 7: Garlock moved to certify the application of Amanda Zamora for the Student Member from the College of Communication, Place 1 position, on the TSPBoard. The motion passed.

II. Certification of Editor Candidates for The Daily Texan.

A. F. Marshall Maher. The application of F. Marshall Maher indicated that he meets all requirements as listed in the TSPHandbook of Operating Procedures.

MOTIONNO. 8: Castillo moved to certify the application of F. Marshall Maher for editor of The Daily Texan. The motion passed.

B. Brian J. Ferguson. The application of Brian J. Ferguson indicated that he does not meet all requirements as listed in the TSPHandbook of Operating Procedures, specifically items 3, 4, and 6. An amended application, however, which Ferguson distributed to members of the Board shortly before the meeting was called to order, indicated he does not meet requirements 3 and 4.

Ferguson addressed the members of the Board concerning his application for editor of The Daily Texan. His presentation included information dealing with his past experience in the media and his lack of experience on The Daily Texan staff. Following questions directed to Ferguson by members of the TSPBoard, David Sessions, senior sports reporter from The Daily Texan staff, submitted a letter concerning the importance of experience on The Daily Texan staff for all those who wish to become editor of the publication. The letter was signed by 32 current Texan staff members.

Further, Daily Texan Copy Desk Chief Kristin Finan and Associate Editor Jennifer Pollack addressed the members of the Board expressing the importance of prior Texan experience for all applicants who wish to be considered for the position of editor of the publication.

MOTION NO. 9: Castillo moved to briefly adjourn the meeting in order to conduct further Board

discussion in executive session. The motion passed.

Following the executive session, Solce reconvened the meeting and reported Ferguson’s application was not accepted by the members of the Board as Ferguson has not “completed at least one semester as a permanent staff member of The Daily Texan in news, sports or on the copy desk” as required by the TSPHandbook of Operating Procedures and due to the fact that his application had been received by the Office of the Director after the published deadline.

C. Jason Hunter. The application of Jason Hunter indicated that he does not meet the minimum grade point average of 2.5 necessary for certification to stand for election for editor of The Daily Texan. Hunter addressed the members of the Board concerning his application, reporting that his current grade point average is 2.4.

MOTIONNO. 10: Castillo moved to accept the grade point average of 2.4 for purposes of certification for editor of The Daily Texan for the 2001-02 academic year. The motion passed.

MOTIONNO. 11: Castillo moved to certify the application of Jason Hunter for editor of The Daily Texan. The motion passed.

III. Report of the Executive Committee.

A. Monthly Financial Report. Hogue discussed the December financial report with the members of the Board. She reported advertising revenue is down by approximately $9,000 for the fall semester; contract printing income is lower than anticipated; and, utility expenses for the first three months of the academic year are $11,000 higher than for the same period last year. Further, Hogue said she may need to request additional funds from the Board to cover utility charges later in the year.

B. Spring Semester Payrolls. Garlock said the Executive Committee reviewed the spring semester payrolls for The Daily Texan, KVR television, and KVRX radio.

MOTIONNO. 12: On behalf of the Executive Committee, Garlock moved to approve the payroll plans as submitted by The Daily Texan managing editor, the KVR television station manager, and the KVRX station manager. The motion passed.

C. Press Unit Purchase and Installation. After receiving bids, the cost of an additional press unit and installation exceed the amount approved by the members of the Board at the November 17, 2000, meeting.

MOTION NO. 13: On behalf of the Executive Committee, Garlock moved to approve additionalfunds, not to exceed $27,575, from the TSPreserve for the purchase and installation of an additional unit for the web press. The motion passed.

IV. Proposed Changes in Student Parking.

Lawrence reviewed her written report with the members of the Board. Further, she said no action was necessary on the part of the Board at this time and she will keep members of the Board informed of further developments.

V. Request for Board Leave.

Lawrence reviewed her written report concerning a request made by Board member Stephen Little to attend further spring Board meetings by way of telephone. Little has accepted an opportunity to study abroad in Finland for the spring semester and does not want to relinquish his membership from the TSPBoard of Operating Trustees.

MOTION NO. 14: Castillo moved to approve Stephen Little’s request to remain a member of the

TSPBoard of Operating Trustees by attending spring meetings by way of telephone on the con-

dition that Little avoid missing more than two meetings during his absence. The motion passed.

VI. Approval of Minutes, November 17, 2000, TSPBoard Meeting.

MOTIONNO 15: Castillo moved to approve the Minutes of the November 17, 2000, TSPBoard

meeting as submitted. The motion passed.

VII. Monthly Reports.

A. KVRX Radio. Madriz announced the release party for the most recent KVRX CD will be held on February 2, at 10:00 p.m., at the Mercury Club. Also, she said the staff is currently working on revisions to the KVRX web site.

B. KVR Television. Silver encouraged members of the Board to watch televised basketball games on KVR television and said a French documentary film crew will film KVR television in February.

C. Texas Travesty. Stroud reported his staff had underestimated its ability to distribute the December issue of Texas Travesty but as a result of a concerted effort made in January, only 600 copies remain yet to be distributed.

VIII. Update on Move to Student Health Center.

Lawrence reviewed her written report with the members of the Board reporting the lack of room for a KVR studio in the plans for the renovated building. This, she said, is one of her biggest concerns with the recent report she received from the space assignment committee. However, she said the prospect of gaining a newly-renovated facility for UT student media remains an exciting prospect.

Solce adjourned the meeting.