It is difficult for any reputable newspaper to report to its readers a complaint on its own behalf. However, we believe President Donald Gerth?s alarming attempt to gain veto power over The State Hornet?s yearly budget is worthy of your attention.

In a memorandum issued this January, Gerth ordered that The State Hornet budget be submitted to him for approval. In sum, Gerth has given himself the power to accept or reject our operating budget at his whim, making him the effective publisher of the only major student medium on campus.

The move has left the editors of The State Hornet with serious first amendment concerns. No truly free student press can have its budget controlled by University authorities. The result could be a chilling effect on future news or opinion pieces critical to Gerth and his administration.

Gerth claims liability issues as his main motivation for the budget takeover. If The Hornet faces a lawsuit, according to Gerth, financial responsibility will fall on Associated Students, Inc., who currently provide our accounting and payroll services. However, according to the Student Press Law Center, there has not been a single instance of a backing organization being sued for the editorial content in a student newspaper.

Furthermore, ASI President Artemio Pimentel and former President Jason Bryant pledged to continue providing accounting services to The Hornet, with the understanding that it not be held liable for the paper?s content. This condition is clearly stated both in The Hornet?s legal charter and the disclaimer on the bottom of this page. Commendably, Pimentel recently reiterated the pledge to continue accounting services for our student-earned budget, further making Gerth?s motivation of protecting ASI invalid.The State Hornet was further disturbed by the lack of necessary input involved in Gerth?s decision. In assuming final control over The Hornet?s budget, Gerth failed to discuss the issue with the State Hornet Publications Board, the panel of students, faculty and administrators that currently decides a variety of issues pertaining to The Hornet, including its budget. Since the decision, he has not attended a single Publications Board meeting or asked the input of any member of The Hornet staff.

At press time, rumors are circulating that Gerth is reconsidering his decision. If this is true, we commend Gerth for considering both sides of the issue. Hopefully, he will decide to leave the newspaper fully independent. We believe our readers should be as critical of administration policies as they should the opinions that appear in these pages. However, without a truly free press, the previous is not possible.

KSSU radio, the only other student-run medium on campus, lacks the signal to reach students on a large scale. The CSUS Bulletin is run by Gerth?s own public relations officers. This leaves The Hornet as the only true forum for critical student voices. Allowing Gerth control over our budget seriously jeopardizes free speech on campus.