The sidewalks are evidence to a new controversy at K-State.
    A recommendation made by the Student Governing Association Privilege Fee Committee to phase out funding for the university marching band over the next three years has many in uproar. The committee passed the recommendation Monday night in a vote of 15-0.
    "This is not [a recommendation] that was made just because of one conversation; we've been talking about this for the last month and even three years ago when I started as a senator," said Lydia Peele, student body president. "This really isn't something that was made as a rash decision."
    Peele said the recommendation to phase out the band is a result of critical budget cuts from the state of Kansas and upon looking at the big picture, the privilege fee committee thought this recommendation best.
    "Specifically, the issue of the marching band privilege fee has really centered around whether or not the average student should be paying for the marching band and where [the marching band] should realistically be getting their funding from," said Wayne Stoskopf, SGA privilege fee committee chair.
    If the recommendation is accepted, it will phase out privilege fee funding for the marching band over a three-year period.
    Currently, the marching band receives $146,057. For fiscal year 2010, this amount would be decreased to $140,000. In fiscal year 2011, funding would be cut in half to $70,000. The final step would occur in fiscal year 2012 when funding by privilege fees would be eliminated.
    Stoskopf said the committee has viewed budgets from the band and found that in the last several years, the band has used money for member awards that violates state regulations. He said three years ago the committee discovered this
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and outlined regulations for  the band that were still not followed. This, he said, is the reasoning for the initial $6,000 budget cut.
    Anna Eaverson, KSU Marching Band graduate assistant, said the award funding never went beyond the state mandated $20 for each band member. Eaverson said the $20 per member was spent but was not equally distributed for each individual member.
    In an a message to parties concerned with the recommendation, Peele said another reason for eliminating privilege fee funding is that those students who do not attend community or athletic events where the band performs do not directly benefit from the band.
    "I would ask [SGA] to first of all think about what the atmosphere at a football game would be like. What would it be like to not have a Wabash and to have our rival bands from KU playing their fight song over ours?  Think about the alumni that have shown such overwhelming support for us over the years. I would also ask them to consider the impact that would make on the university in general," said Amanda Jolly, sixth-year member and drum major for the marching band. "I would just really like to ask them to consider the long-term ramifications."
    In response to the recommendation, band members have created both a Web site, www.keepthepride.com, and a Facebook group that surpassed 5,000 members in less than 24 hours of its creation.
    "So far, the support for [the band] has been overwhelmingly positive," Jolly said. "If we can keep the positive support and the letters to SGA coming, hopefully there will be enough pressure to the SGA to turn this around."
    Stoskopf said a meeting will be held with members from the music department, the Alumni Association, the KSU Foundation and the Athletics Department to discuss other methods of funding the band.
    "The reason we had a decrease for the second year is because there are other sources of funding besides just students and we want to make sure that we are not costing students too much," Stoskopf said. "The reason that we chose to do a phase out was to give the band an opportunity to find other sources of funding and ensure that they would be able to remain at K-State."
    Eaverson said she is disheartened by the recommendation.
    "They are weeding us out, and we have to find our own resources," she said. "This wouldn't be such an explosion if they were phasing us out and moving us into a new method of funding. They're making us be the people to find a new source of funding. I don't know of any other organization that has to find their own funding."
    Peele emphasized that no final action has been taken in regards to the recommendation. It will be introduced this evening to the Student Senate Committee and the Senate will vote on it Dec. 4.
    Peele said she encourages students to continue to voice their opinions on the issue. In order to promote campus involvement, Stoskopf said the SGA Privilege Fee Committee is holding a meeting in the Union Little Theatre Monday at 5:30 p.m. Students can also attend the SGA meeting this evening at 7 p.m. in Union's Big 12 room.

Comments

1 comments

Student Joe

Thu Nov 20 2008 21:38

SGA thinks the average student shouldn't be paying for the marching band since a lot of students never attend games or events where the marching band plays.

I don't go to the games, but I understand the importance of the band and if that means me paying $4 in privilege fees to support the band, I'd gladly do so. What about the Rec? What about Lafene's services? What about the numerous programs that benefit from student privilege fees. I've been here three years and used Lafene once. I know a ton of students who never go to the Rec, but they're still paying for it. We're paying for that dumb parking garage through student fees, but we'll never use it. Maybe those things should look for funding elsewhere.

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