What started as an idea in the back of the mind of University Arabic faculty member Mohamed Jemmali to give experience to journalism students connected with the Arabic department, Yalla — a campus publication — may have to stop operation after this year. The publication will likely have to find a way to return funds, as it was allocated $1,190 in the Programs Finance Committee process this year.
Former Yalla Editor-in-Chief Nick Willon said the group tried hard to reel in student interest in the group this last year, but wasn’t successful. This was one of the compounding reasons for ending his involvement with the publication and ultimately the dissolving of the paper. He said he officially ended work for Yalla before the last issue, released on April 18, and was not involved with that issue. @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=willon@@
When asked about that particular issue, Willon detailed why he was no longer involved and said the paper wasn’t going to exist because there was no one to take his place.
“(I was) too busy and (there was) not enough student support,” Willon said. “It’s been dissolved so I can pursue other things.”
During the budgeting process, which takes place during winter term each year, programs that started in the previous year have a precedent of being allocated just $300. However, the publication received more money than the traditional allocation because of a desire for the program to expand and necessitate less return trips to Senate for printing costs.
Noah Wolf-Prusan, chair of this past year’s PFC budgeting process, said it was unfortunate, because they had given them an increased allocation during the recall session.
“I think they’re budgeted pretty hefty; we wanted them to grow,” Wolf-Prusan said. “It was definitely four figures rather than three … I just tried to help Yalla because I thought it was a cool newspaper.”
He said that the likely result of a group going defunct before using their allocation that next year would be the money rolling back into the surplus account.
“That’s a very interesting question. I assume that the money would go to surplus,” Wolf-Prusan said. “I wouldn’t think of any other place it would go to.”
Wolf-Prusan said he thought it was unfortunate that the paper was lacking structure and said he hoped that even if members had to return their budget next year that they could remain recognized in some form so more students could come back in the future.
He said when a group is “defunct, we ask them to return their budget to surplus. I don’t know exactly … the (Programs Recognition and Review Committee) process, but I hope they do” remain in the process, so they can revise and return if motivated students want to get involved.
The paper garnered attention when there was apparent plagiarism in the most recent issue. The second page of the most recent issue copied some content from Wikipedia articles on the revolutions in the Middle East and public employee protests in the U.S. without indicating that it was from Wikipedia.
Jemmali started the paper during 2010’s winter term and held weekly meetings until the first issue was released at the end of spring term. Issue one was printed with 5,000 copies and was intended to last throughout the summer. Those working on the paper received surplus funds from Senate on a few occasions and were able to produce three more issues to this point.
Jemmali is listed as one of the two faculty advisers of the program, but he had the original idea for the publication and has directed much of the creative process for the issues. He is being let go from the University at the end of this school year. This is a primary reason Willon said why the paper will be going defunct shortly. Wolf-Prusan said he understood why this would be an issue.
“It makes sense; Mohamed was a very important role in that,” Wolf-Prusan said.
The Emerald was unable to get in contact with ASUO accountant Lynn Giordano@@http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Lynn/Giordano@@ for confirmation of the “return to surplus” procedure before deadline.
Yalla by the numbers

• 9 – distribution racks purchased as of Fall 2010
• 4 – issues of the Yalla publication
• 4,000 – average number of copies of the four issues
• $1,190 – total budget of the publication for 2011-12
• 11 – number of students listed in the staff box as of Jan. 2011
• 16 – months since Yalla’s beginning