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I. Name of organization and date of proposal revised 2/10/99 II. Mission The Forum for a Free Press is a body composed of representatives of student publications and Student Council-appointed individuals. The FFFP exists to budget student publications and act as an advocate on behalf of these publications. The FFFP strives to preserve the diversity and quality of campus media. III. Practice Students who wish to publish a publication must apply to the Forum for a Free Press to receive funding at least six weeks before their projected printing date. A clear and well-constructed plan will facilitate this allocation process. The Student Budget Committee will allocate a lump sum of money to the Forum For A Free Press to distribute to grantees. The grant application of each publication must include a statement of how the publication is organized and selects its leadership. This statement demonstrates to the Forum for a Free Press that the publication is capable of making responsible decisions about how to spend its grant money. This statement takes the place of a charter (and is detailed in the FFFP sample grant application). Any publication receiving funds from the Forum for a Free Press must make at least 500 copies of each edition available to members of the Swarthmore College Community. No publication which receives grants from the Forum for a Free Press may charge Swarthmore students to obtain an edition. An appeals process exists for those publications which feels its funding has been improperly denied or restricted. The organization may plead its case to the Student Budget Committee. In the event that a publication takes issue with the decision made by the Student Budget Committee, it may ultimately appeal to Student Council. Decision-Making Guidelines: Being awarded a grant in the past does not guarantee that any publication will receive one in the future. However, if a publication received a grant the previous year and proposes to undertake essentially the same activities with its next grant, Forum for a Free Press will evaluate the application according to whether the publication 1) contributed to the quality and diversity of campus media, 2) did so in the ways and to the extent it promised in the previous grant application and 3) spent its grant and outside funds for the year essentially as it promised in the previous grant application. In other words, publications asking for renewal of their grants will be partially evaluated on whether they did what they proposed to do and seem likely to successfully continue. Any differences between a publication's grant proposal and its actual activities must be explained to the satisfaction of the Forum for a Free Press. Applications from existing publications that propose fundamentally different activities for their next grants will be evaluated on the criteria above and on the potential of the new activities to contribute to the quality and diversity of campus media. Applications from new publications will be evaluated on the potential of the publications to contribute to the quality and diversity of campus media. All publications will be evaluated based on how unique their contribution is to publications on this campus. If unacceptable overlap seems likely, publications will not be funded. IV. Membership The Forum for a Free Press shall consist of three students appointed by Student Council and two students chosen by grantee publications. The publications representatives serve as the experts on issues of publishing and technical matters and the SC-appointees represent the student body at large. One alternate shall be chosen by grantee publications to fill in for one or both of the non-Student Council appointed members if a conflict of interest should arise. All students except the following are eligible to hold one of the three SC-appointed seats:
The Student Publications Coordinator must organize elections for the representatives of the grantee publications. Interested parties declare their candidacy by informing the Student Publications Coordinator by the deadline established by the Forum for a Free Press. Each grantee publication will have an equal voice in elections. Members of Forum for a Free Press shall serve on the committee for two consecutive semesters. Each Spring, Student Council shall appoint two members and grantee publications shall elect one member and alternate to serve on the Forum for a Free Press. During the Fall, one member and alternate are elected by grantee publications and one member selected by Student Council. V. Leadership The Student Publications Coordinator shall convene the Forum for a Free Press and act as treasurer. While the Coordinator is not a member of the Forum for a Free Press, she or he, or a designee, must keep records of all approved grants as well as records of expenditures made on the basis of those grants, communicate with grantee publications on a regular basis, present a budget at Spring Budgeting, and make the campus aware of Forum for a Free Press activities in the most effective manner. A more detailed description of the Student Publications Coordinator's other contractual duties and responsibilities can be found in the Budget Committee office. VI. Budget The money allocated to Forum for a Free Press by Budget Committee will be used to budget publications each year. This amount will be based on: 1) the total of all approved budget proposals to the FFFP, and 2) 5-10% of this amount in addition. The surplus will be used to supplement approved grants, to help fund new publications, and to address emergencies. VII. Role The Forum for a Free Press is unique in that it will ensure that publications continue to be a source of free expression on campus by fostering diversity among and ensuring the quality and independence of campus media. |