By Amy Lynd

At Georgetown University, “The Hoya” newspaper faces the dilemma of choosing between independence and its identity. 
The Hoya wants to cut ownership ties with the university and become an independent newspaper.  The Georgetown administration’s response is that The Hoya can do so, if it changes its traditional name.  After meeting with The Hoya leaders in early February, university administrators have continued to discuss the newspaper’s dual motion to go independent and keep its name, but they have yet to budge on their stance. 
“The university is not against The Hoya’s independence, but this question of the name is unchartered waters,” says Erika Cohen-Derr, director of student programs. 
According to an article published by “The Voice” in 2006, the university refuses to grant use of The Hoya name for copyright reasons. Administrators said that allowing an organization not affiliated with the school to use the name would open the door to other organizations like clothing manufacturers to do the same.
            “It would be a travesty if we had to give up our name.  An 88-year-old institution is on the line here,” counters Alex Schank, chair of The Hoya board of directors.  Schank says that the newspaper’s name has symbolized its identity, its history, and its connection to thousands of alumni since its founding. 
            The Hoya’s campaign for independence began 20 years ago.  According to Schank, every time The Hoya has come close to going independent, its members have decided that they are unwilling to pay the price of their name.  In a staff meeting last November, The Hoya members agreed to continue fighting both gain independence and keep The Hoya name alive.   
The current push for independence began last summer and has since found supporters among students, faculty, alumni, and parents.  Five hundred and seventy five supporters signed an online petition expressing support for The Hoya’s bid to keep its name, and dozens also sent personal letters and emails to Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson and Georgetown University President John DeGioia.         
            The Hoya leaders say that budgetary control is their primary motivation for independence.  The paper’s budget is controlled by the Georgetown University media board, which oversees all media groups on campus and has the executive power to veto budgetary items. 
In April of last year, the media board rejected two of The Hoya’s proposals, including the extension of $100 per semester stipends to its mid-level editors and the publication of a new student guide to Georgetown.  The Hoya leadership considered these proposals to be the most forward-thinking initiatives in the newspaper’s budget, according to Max Sarinsky, former editor in chief of The Hoya. 
             “The fundamental problem with the media board is that it cannot see beyond the year-to-year budgeting it is tasked with completing.  It has proven itself unwilling or unable in many instances to take the long-term interests of The Hoya into account,” says Schank. 
            As it stands, The Hoya is a financially sustainable organization.  The paper’s leaders say it has had its ups and downs, including a one-time deficit about seven years ago, but for the past few years it has earned profits in the tens of thousands of dollars.  During the 2006-07 school year, The Hoya made nearly $110,000 in profit, after covering its $242,000 in operating expenses.  However, the newspaper was only able to keep about a third of that profit, an amount which was calculated based on a formula derived by the university. 
By this formula, the first $5,000 of The Hoya’s profit goes to the newspaper, the next $15,000 goes into a rainy day reserve used for deficit years, and the next $30,000 goes to the university.  Profits over $50,000 are divided as follows: 50/50 to the newspaper and the university respectively for the first additional $100,000, and 75/25 to the newspaper and the university respectively when additional profits are above $100,000.
Schank calls the formula “convoluted and unfair.”  He says that the current arrangement fails to provide the paper significant capital to reinvest in itself, develop its technology, increase its staff size, and publish more frequently.     
On savethehoya.com, a website created by The Hoya members, independence advocates also argue that an independent newspaper would enhance Georgetown’s journalistic prestige.     They cite the fact that the nation’s Ivy League universities, top public universities, and prominent Catholic universities have independent newspapers.     
Another concern goes to the heart of a fundamental journalistic principle. “What kind of respectable news source is owned by the organization it’s supposed to be reporting on?  Whatever happened to things like objectivity and journalistic principle?” says the website. 
            These factors have been central concerns of The Hoya’s since the newspaper first began seeking financial and editorial independence from the university.  “What’s different this time around is that we’ve had an open and frank discussion with the university and have discussed leasing our name.  I think we understand the administration better and they understand us better,” Schank says. 
The administration seems to acknowledge that the negotiations over the name are evolving as well.  “The university has a lot of respect for the work the students at The Hoya are doing.  They seem to be passionate and focused, and The Hoya continues to refine its proposal,” says Cohen-Derr. 
Both parties say that they will continue sitting at the table but that they are unsure about when a compromise will be reached.  The Hoya members are pushing for a resolution by next year.  When asked about when a decision will be made, Cohen-Derr says, “I don’t think anybody wants this to go on indefinitely.”