a Rey : hs i ae : At Rae oie ya ee ‘ Rote " aie. pee See | See: ae a i oe DNS ‘ i By KRISTINA SAUERWEIN, bers seréeds to ‘ehaties: its namesth: Student Fee Allo- ant ~ cation Committee to Student Fee Recommendation | * OGDEN — Weber State University’s R ‘Student Fee a Committee to convey that the committee.e- only makes 4 ne Relieenendatina Committee voted 6-3 Wednesday to — | recommendations. close its final meeting to the public and press despite — Kotter, the administrator who oversees. students’ tah budget, said the committee based its decisions on the student newspaper's warning that it will pursue lespeeches given last Thursday by WSU attorney Rich- — , gal action against the committee for violating the ard Hill, Standard-Examiner reporter Don Baker and © state’s open meeting law. | . After the vote, Signpost Editor iin Chief Jeff Haney . Melinda Roylance, last. year’ S student government 4 “president... 4 ‘scurried off to contact the Utah Press Association, SoHill explained the open meetings law while Baker . ciety of Professional J ournalists and national press Or Nes ah -Examiner staff and Roylance discussed the pros and cons of closing va ganizations, the meeting. Baker, who also serves on the Society of Professional 3 | J ournalists’ board of directors, told the committee he | would help the Signpost with its efforts to ‘pursue legal oe - “They can’t close the meeting. They have to let in (the press and public),” he said. The staff has taken an editorial stand arguing that ‘mittee, and members ony make Student fee | recommendations. - He said only Marie Kotter, “WSU vice president for ‘student services, and the nine committee members de- © EP Se ar any meeting where publicly elected or appointed offi= ee ‘cers debate on how students’ money will be Spent . ecuon... The committee barred a student reporter from at- | ‘should remain open. * But Brett Chugg, student government oresident, said | tending the meeting last year and although reporters -Utah’s Open Meetings Law doesn’t apply because stu- | protested, Baker said the media didn’ t push the1 issue : ‘dents — not government officials — form the com- | hard enough. “But not this year,” he said. enaien’ \ Roylance said closing the meeting ensures that stu- dent fees will stay low since students and educators might pressure members to allocate higher funds to groups. “Outside people start playing games with (the. committee) to get them to give money, and that says to me that closing the meeting and keeping fees low is more important than opening up that one meeting,” _ liberating on how to allocate $4.3 million in student | ‘fees should attend the-Jan. 29 meeting or else students | could be swayed or intimidated. byoY the ess, their pro- » fessors or " special iinterest groups. ies _ said Roylance, who graduated last year with acom- — » munications degree. , Other meetings where ‘student § groups And makesinc budget ‘sure vote to peers, "educators, ‘the media and poe e the |_ I said. ce lan Roy , open in rema ests requ _ ‘even a judge, Chugg said. “We'll probably have to face a lot of people, but (the committee) thought was right,” said Chugg, sa did what students formed the committee six years ago, the final it : meeting has remained closed. that all mem- ~ i a cS ll all eel ci lt ll s all ~— cecal ai tl itll ab hI i ; iS Se r al ae ebay aia is Se eR ieh I Auer carseat “Manna |! TET anette We