Media Center may face budget cuts

The Digital Media Center (DMC) is facing cuts to its repair and replacement budget, a loss that will affect its ability to replace and update equipment and possibly force the center to charge students for membership.

Although the Homewood Student Affairs office would not provide exact figures, the DMC anticipates an approximately $60,000 cut to its repair and replacement budget, which allocates money for equipment maintenance and purchase, explained Video Specialist Leslye James.

Administrative Assistant Deborah Buffalin said, "The reason we are funded through Homewood Student Affairs is because we exist to enhance the non-academic life of students. We are the creative analogue of the rec center."

The Homewood Student Affairs budget provides funding for a variety of campus services including enrollment management, athletics, housing and dining operations, counseling center, student affairs, ID card services, student billing, and ROTC.

"Because our funding comes from Homewood Student Affairs, we share a pretty large pot of money that goes towards all aspects of student life. So along with the whole rest of the University, we're experiencing budget cuts -- some more dramatic than others. We're just in a lean economic time right now," Buffalin said.

Executive Director in the Homewood Student Affairs office Michael Sullivan explained, "The budget process goes through many levels of review and approval but ultimately Dean Burger develops and presents the Homewood Student Affairs budget to Dean Falk for approval."

The DMC's normal operating budget will not be affected and has actually increased over the years, according to Sullivan.

Sullivan said, "The DMC operating budget has not been cut, but rather has been increased over the past few years. From 2003 to 2006, over a three year period, it's gone up almost 28 percent. What has been scaled back is the annual contribution to the DMC equipment reserve."

He added, "The reserve for future investment in new technologies and equipment replacement is being evaluated. They still have a significant reserve. I think they have to make choices like everybody else does."

Those choices are forcing the DMC to maintain and prolong the use of existing equipment, instead of replacing them with brand new equipment. Buffalin gave one example: "We have three 3-chip video cameras. We originally projected they'd have a three-year life span during which they would become broken or obsolete. In an effort to really husband our resources, we've got one now that's five years old and two that are four years old. We have repaired one of them, but we haven't replaced them."

"There are better 3-chip video cameras on the market, but this is what we're using now. And at this point, the patrons seem to be happy with that."

The DMC is also considering instituting of a user fee to help offset the costs of replacing and buying new equipment. In a current on-line survey, the DMC is asking students if they would be willing to pay a fee to use the media center. This could take the form of a user fee of $1 per checkout of equipment leaving the lab, or a $50 per academic year membership fee.

In its five years of existence, the Digital Media Center has been free to all Homewood students and has enforced a "Homewood Students Only" policy that excludes faculty and students from other schools. More than 15 percent of Homewood students use the Digital Media Center lab in a year.

As another one of their survey questions suggests, the DMC is also considering changing their model to that of the Recreation Center -- charging user fees to non-Homewood students, part-time students, alumni, staff and Hopkins families.

Freshman Eric Tate, a regular user of the Digital Media Center, says he would pay a fee to use the equipment. Tate commented, "I would be willing to pay, as long as it's a reasonable amount. I know that they're doing the best that they can with their budget."

It is still to be determined how much of the DMC repair and replacement budget will be affected, with exact figures expected in July. Meanwhile, the DMC is working to use their resources in the best ways possible as they plan for next year.

Buffalin asserted, "It is still our mission to have some of the best stuff out there, the cutting edge stuff, and it is still our mission to bring materials into the hands of students that they wouldn't otherwise get to have. But we just may not have as broad of a scope in the immediate future."