By Matt Graham
In an effort to make the Student Activity Fee do more for the student body, your elected leaders of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) have decided to cease broadcasting SBU-TV in the dorms on campus.
It is our belief that SBU-TV’s channel 20 broadcasts have become an outdated form of media to students. Our generation goes online for not only information but for news, entertainment and nearly all forms of media. Though channel 20 in the past may have been popular for the student body, it is obvious that it has become obsolete. With over half of the student body commuting, that is even more students who can’t even watch channel 20.
Nevertheless, they still have to spend money for its operation. Our vision is to shift SBU-TV’s content to a completely online source. This will not only allow for commuters to reach SBU-TV’s content but also lift us from some of the University’s regulations that prohibit certain content on channel 20. It will also cut the cost of operation significantly and allow for those savings to better serve the students.
There has been some confusion about whether SBU-TV is an independent club or agency of the USG. In our laws, it is clearly defined as an agency of the USG, and thus can be guided by USG’s leadership.
Some may be unhappy with our process, but we did what was necessary to protect the hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment in SBU-TV’s offices, equipment that was paid for by the Student Activity Fee. We were aware that our proposal would be controversial, and naturally, this would put our assets at risk. History has shown us that situations similar to this result in assets being stolen or damaged. Our number one goal was to prevent that this time around.
We are not shutting down SBU-TV, but rather restructuring it so that it can better serve the students.
The leaders of USG are accountable for ensuring that every dollar of the Student Activity Fee is spent in the most fiscally responsible way. In the end, we are saving the students money and hoping to provide a service that will benefit them more.