KTRU requests support for blanket tax

Last Updated on February 21, 2009 by askcbiorg

KTRU, the student radio station at Rice University is requesting an increase in the “blanket tax” collected by the University.  The blanket tax is a fee collected by the University and forwarded directly to the student organization.  The current student blanket tax is $5.50 per student.  KTRU is asking the student body to vote to support an increase of $3.  As the article notes, the blanket tax for KTRU has not been changed in over 20 years and the fee only covers approximately 50% of its annual expenditures.  There are other articles in this edition of the school paper that explain a little more about how the blanket tax works and what other organizations are seeking an increase.  This is of interest to many stations as it is common for stations funded from student fees to fight for money either with the student government or a media board.  The blanket tax model is not unique and some stations have used this model to advocate for a secure source of funding for their organization that is separate from student government and media board politics.  There are many different ways that student stations are funded and organized.  If your station has questions about how stations are funded, join the CBI email list and ask questions!