LA GRANDE — The outlook for Eastern Oregon University’s online student newspaper, The Voice, is dimming.

The EOU Student Fee Committee denied an appeal on April 13 from The Voice to restore any funding for the newspaper in the upcoming 2023-24 school year. The appeal was made after the Student Fee Committee voted in February to cut all of The Voice’s funding for the next school year.

The loss means the newspaper likely will not be able to operate in 2023-24 because its sole source of financial support is the money it receives annually from the Student Fee Committee, according to Jillian Hoefer, The Voice’s current editor-in-chief and an intern of The Observer.

“I am heartbroken,” she said of the prospective closure of the university’s newspaper.

The Student Fee Committee allocates how much money from student incidental fees goes to the university’s student organizations and programs on campus. The recommendations then must be approved by the Associated Students of EOU, the EOU president’s office and the EOU Board of Trustees.

The Voice’s budget for the current school year is $6,500, according to Jeannette Benton, the faculty adviser for The Voice and an English and writing instructor.

Exploring other options

Despite the loss of funding from the Student Fee Committee all is not lost for The Voice.

Benton said at least two potential private donors have expressed an interest in providing the funding The Voice would need to operate next year, but only on the condition that that online newspaper would have the funding available to sustain it after 2023-24.

The adviser said she is applying for a number of grants for The Voice but does not expect to learn if The Voice will receive any grants until after the 2023-24 school year has already started. This means that those interested in making 2023-24 donations would be unlikely to make them since they would not know until after the school year starts whether The Voice would have the money it needs to operate beyond 2023-24, Benton said.

Another route Benton might pursue would be to give students on the newspaper’s staff academic practicum credit instead of the salaries they now get. Students would have to pay tuition to receive their academic credit. Benton said steps would be taken to raise money to provide scholarships for these students to pay for the added tuition expense.

“We would not want them to have to pay for the chance to work for The Voice,” Benton said.

Aligning The Voice academically with Eastern would mean that it would lose the student club status it now has and would no longer be eligible to apply for funding from the Student Fee Committee, Benton said.

Annika Hodges, an online student set to serve as the editor-in-chief of The Voice in 2023-24, said it would be a major blow to her if the newspaper shuts down. She said the chance to serve as the newspaper’s editor would give her career hopes a boost because of the experience she would gain.

“It would be a big addition to my resume,” she said.

Hodges also said that serving as editor would provide her with important leadership experience “that would help me in my career and in life.”

She added that working for The Voice gives her a chance to earn money to help pay her college expenses she would not otherwise have. Hodges explained that she suffers from arthritis, a condition that limits the type of jobs she can take on.

Mary Grace Shirk, an on-campus student majoring in English, believes people should take a proactive approach to the situation.

“Instead of arguing about why the funding was cut, we should focus on ways it can be preserved,” she said.

Shirk said The Voice offers a wonderful educational opportunity.

“It lets you step inside the field of journalism without having to leave school,” she said.

Miguel Viveros Chavez, an online student in Portland who is a reporter and a copy editor for The Voice, said the loss of the student newspaper would deprive students of a means of expression.

“Not having The Voice would take away the student perspective about issues on campus,” he said.

The Voice has been Eastern Oregon University’s student newspaper since at least the 1940s. It was named the Eastern Beacon until about 20 years ago when it assumed its present name. The Voice typically publishes six editions a year, three during winter term and three during spring term, and has been an online publication exclusively since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

Eastern Oregon University in danger of losing its ‘Voice’