UM system rejects Miner's demands

By Jacob Houska

Published Sept. 14, 2007

The UM system declined to replace the funding cut from UM-Rolla's student newspaper despite legal threats from its staff, which perpetuated a standoff that started last November.

The dispute between UMR and The Missouri Miner began when UMR's Student Government Association cut roughly one-third of the paper's funding. The organization justified the cuts by claiming the paper had too many grammatical errors and a high staff salary.

Editor-in-Chief Chris Stryker said he thinks the cut is an attempt to censor a paper and a violation of the First Amendment, but UM system General Counsel Bunky Wright said the student government was not biased against the paper when it made its decision.

"The student government who reduced the Miner's budget also reduced its own budget," Wright said. "So it's important to keep that in mind."

SGA President Beth Groenke declined to comment.

Stryker gave UMR an Aug. 27 deadline for an out-of-court resolution, which he referred to as "one more chance to resolve it amicably" in a previous Maneater report.

"I didn't think they responded at first," Stryker said. "But we did eventually receive a fax on Monday. (Wright) still said he didn't see any evidence to support out claims. I beg to differ. I mean, it just makes me very upset to see that the university won't do what's ethical, let alone what's legal."

Stryker said he believes the paper has a legal claim to the funding.

"It's pretty clear-cut," Stryker said. "If (Wright) doesn't see it, maybe it's time for the university to look for a new general counsel."

Wright announced earlier this year he would retire effective Dec. 31, and the UM system is currently searching for a new general counsel.

Wright said neither side has taken any legal action since his fax to The Missouri Miner.

"There isn't any case here," Wright said. "We haven't been sued, and I haven't heard a word from them since we last responded."

Wright would not comment on the legal aspects of the case.

Mike Heaston, a legal consultant from the Student Press Law Center, said he still feels The Miner's case is intact.

"Nothing really has changed," Heaston said. "If the university's response is the same as it was before, the school is clearly crossing the line."

The newspaper's staff has turned to the law center for legal advice in the past. When the funding was cut, the center advised Stryker that he might have a legitimate case against the school.