Students, KPSU push SFC for radio station funding

Over 30 students rallied for Portland State’s student-run radio station during an appeal to the Student Fee Committee on Wednesday after the committee cut $22,087 from the radio station’s initial budget request.

The Student Fee Committee (SFC) oversees the distribution of roughly $10 million to athletics and student groups, including the Vanguard. The committee has been deliberating on the budget for next year since the start of winter term and began hearing appeals to their initial allocations Monday.

The radio station, KPSU, received $150,222 in SFC funding last year. This year the station initially requested $172,209, and the SFC allocated KPSU $150,122.

Station manager Darren Bridenbeck said that a rise in broadcasting fees and PSU’s revised stipend policy require that the station get more funding. Without additional funding for the fees, Bridenbeck said the station would have to shut down.

“Basically, most of our costs that rose this year have to do with things outside of KPSU control,” Bridenbeck said. “We just have to spend more to keep broadcasting.”

PSU instituted a 10 percent increase for student stipends last year and student groups have had to reflect the increase in their budget requests. KPSU requested $76,080 for stipends next year.

Bridenbeck said that the increase in broadcasting fees for five organizations, such as KBPS, a broadcasting source ran by Benson High School, made KPSU request more money. The cost for KBPS this year was $13 per hour and the cost for next year will be $15 per hour. Bridenbeck said that if the costs are not met, the station’s air time will be pulled entirely.

SFC Chair Madeline Enos said that the SFC cut the KPSU budget request by 13 percent because the KPSU budget request was unclear and the committee wanted Bridenbeck to justify the increase.

“We specifically asked for groups to justify parts of their budgets that they feel are the most important during appeals,” Enos said.

DJ Aaron Reyna, who hosts a Monday evening show from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and attended the SFC meeting, said he feels that the SFC didn’t properly explain their decision to cut 13 percent of the budget request.

“It’s really unfortunate that these cuts are being made,” Reyna said. “It really affects the livelihood of KPSU.”

The SFC appeals should be finished by Friday, March 2, and the committee will submit its budget to the ASPSU senate for final approval on Monday, March 12.

The senate is expected to announce an approved budget on March 19. Once the final allocations are agreed upon, the figures will be available on the SFC online budgeting system.