After  the administration of Los Angeles City College cut funding by 40 percent for its official student publication, The Los Angeles City College Collegian, students and faculty are crying foul.  Supporters of the paper question not only the amount of the cut, but also the decision process and motivations for it. 

The College Adviser to the Collegian, Rhonda Guess, said that the cuts were as devastating as “cutting chemicals from the chemistry budget.” Guess added that “the paper provides a window into the college…for all the students and the community,” and so should not be cut despite the financial pressures.

Guess also questioned the motivation for funding cuts, accusing College President Jamilliah Moore of cutting the funding in retaliation for a formal complaint submitted by the Collegian, alleging that President Moore “bullied” them at a student meeting. This claim was disputed by the College’s Academic Senate President Ken Sherwood, who said that the cuts had nothing to do with a vendetta and that the cuts were “the only way to preserve the newspaper from being cut completely” in the face of institution-wide cuts.

Even the process for determining the budget cut is in question.  Initially, members of Journalism Department expected to see the fifteen percent cut agreed to by Shared Governance.  The higher forty percent cut appeared to come exclusively from President Moore’s office.  Journalism Department Chair Daniel Marlos said, “There was no input on behalf of any interested parties.” 
 

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