Dwindling funds, the death of a powerful mentor and what some have called university "blackmail" have plagued Penn State's campus radio station this year.

The Lion 90.7 FM, the student radio station in the HUB-Robeson Center, may be unable to continue operating if the station doesn't get enough funding. Currently in limbo, the station is waiting while the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC) debates on the amount of money to give the station -- a decision that will determine that station's future.

After months of fighting for more money to fund its radio station, the Lion faced another blow a few weeks ago -- the man who had used his clout as a university donor and faculty member to lobby the administration suddenly died.

Bob Zimmerman, the station's adviser and head of the Alumni Interest Group, died at a time when the station was at the height of vulnerability -- in the midst of a budget struggle between the Lion and the administration.

Funding woes

The Lion, facing significant budget cuts in the past few years, is trying to find a way to stay afloat while not sacrificing what its officers describe as controversial content.

The Lion once received as much as $50,000 of university funds. But the money The Lion received has dwindled, and UPAC is currently reviewing how much assistance the station should receive.

From 1995 to 2005, the amount of university money given to the radio station decreased to zero as The Lion's funding contract with Student Affairs for $25,000 a semester expired after the 2003-04 school year.

Without university assistance, members of the Lion fear they will not have enough money to continue the radio station in its current form.

Tom Shakely, The Lion's financial director, said Vice President of Student Affairs Vicky Triponey told him if the station wanted to receive additional university funding, it would have to hire a student affairs employee to replace Zimmerman.

"There's a word for that," Shakely said. "It's called blackmail."

Shakely and fellow radio station officers believe employing a student affairs adviser would mean having university-regulated content -- an unacceptable option.

Triponey said the original contract made clear that the Student Affairs money was a one-shot deal made by her predecessor to "bail them out" of financial trouble. If the Lion were to get more money, Triponey said she would need someone from her office to monitor the Lion's expenditures.

"If I were to support them with my office's money, then I need someone to report to me to make sure they are spending that money responsibly," Triponey said.

Brandon Peach, president of The Lion, said he has no intention of employing an adviser from Old Main.

Peach said he believes Triponey wants to silence on-air programs like Radio Free Penn State that attack university decisions.

"We are critical and that is a problem for her," he said. "The easiest way to silence something is to grab it by the throat and the easiest way to grab us by the throat is by cutting funds."

A Question of Censorship

Triponey, who once served as an adviser for a student radio station at Georgia State University in the 1980s, said administrative oversight does not impede student rights.

"They keep an eye on things," she said. "You won't find any adviser anywhere who is going to try to censor content."

She added that she has no intention of muffling The Lion, including Radio Free Penn State, which she said she has never listened to.

"I'm a firm believer in free speech," she said. "I know there's a suspicion there that I want to shut them down and silence their voice, and that's not the case."

This is not the first time Triponey has come under fire for her involvement with student media, though.

When Triponey was at University of Connecticut, the student newspaper, The Daily Campus, reported that she had put together a study group to examine the paper's operational procedures. The group did not include any staff members of the newspaper.

An editorial from the newspaper later said that "appointing any personnel to the Daily Campus that would answer directly to the university and not to the student executive officers would be incredibly devastating."

As the radio station mourns Zimmerman's death, they also have to move forward in seeking a new adviser.

"The thing about Bob was that he filled many roles. He was a liaison to administration, a mentor to students and a teacher to people in the station," Peach, said. "It's utterly impossible to replace him with any singular person; there's no way to replace him with a dozen people, to be honest."

Peach added that Zimmerman "had a lot of clout" with the administration -- clout that could've helped them in the weeks to come. Zimmerman was a tenured professor, and he and his wife donated $295,000 to Penn State in 1999.

Shakely said Zimmerman was able to help The Lion cut through red tape, and now, without Zimmerman to lobby for The Lion, he is worried about the possibility of more impediments.

"What most concerns me is that the radio station will not be around in this form in some point at the future," Peach said. "The concern is that they will only be willing to give up money if we allow someone from Student Affairs to act as an adviser."

Allocation matters

Triponey said The Lion is currently ineligible to request funding from the newly established Fee Allocation Board (FAB), which will begin hearings this semester and distribute student activity fee money to exclusively "big budget items."

Among these major budget items is UPAC -- the entity from which The Lion will have to request its funding.

Shakely said he and Peach convinced Greg Heleniak, UPAC chairman, to put The Lion in a separate category called "ongoing programming." For this year only, UPAC has permitted The Lion to request unlimited funds, straying from its recently imposed $1,800 yearly cap for organizations, Shakely said.

Heleniak said next year's UPAC leaders can decide whether The Lion can request a larger amount of funding next year.

The Lion requested $35,000 this year to buy equipment, including microphones and computers. It has raised about $1,500 from advertising this year, Shakely said, adding that the station has enough funds to make marginal improvements but not enough to make sure they are secure for the future.

Shakely said if The Lion's funding request isn't met, the station may ask members of its Alumni Interest Group for help or begin fundraising activities.

Members of The Lion believe that the radio station's status as the only Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensed club at Penn State validates their request for funding.

"UPAC allocates $60,000 to Movin' On. That's a one-day event; we're a 365-day event," said Andy Nagypal, the host of Radio Free Penn State and volunteer adviser.

Rumors and regulation

Peach said he believes The Lion will see more hurdles in the upcoming months beyond the issue of funding. Peach said he has heard rumors about The Lion's broadcasting license being taken away or being acquired by the College of Communications.

Jeff Brown, the general manager of ComRadio, an online student radio station that is part of the College of Communications, said he has not heard anything about ComRadio receiving The Lion's license. The Penn State Board of Trustees currently holds The Lion's broadcasting license.

"I personally see no need to combine the two. My wish is for both organizations to have long and productive runs as separate entities," Brown wrote in an e-mail message.

The Lion previously had a relationship with the college but Peach said it "quickly deteriorated."

Doug Anderson, dean of the College of Communications, said the format of The Lion wasn't conducive to communications students having as much hands-on experience as the college would like.

The Lion's officers said Triponey and Stan Latta, director of unions and student activities, have suggested that The Lion re-establish a relationship with the College of Communications.

"My opinion is that if it were a collaborative effort and a teaching and learning lab with the College of Communications you could get some economies of scale," Latta said. The faculty and support staff there have great resources to help the station. The students may think that being aligned with the College of Communications would mean that someone would control programming. They would not take it over."

But Peach said he isn't worried about being taken over.

Despite financial concerns, rumors of administrative intervention and Zimmerman's death, the officers of The Lion said they are confident their voices will continue to be heard.

"I see Brandon and a few others working to create a positive future for The Lion," Shakely said. "I don't expect help from Student Affairs, and I don't expect help from Dr. Triponey."