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Author: Rayna Stallings

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  • Opinion

OPINION: Students should have been given mental health day after lockdown

  • Rayna Stallings
  • February 12, 2024
  • 0

Kennesaw State failed to look out for the mental health of students, staff and faculty following a campus-wide lockdown. KSU should have given students, staff […]

  • Arts & Living
  • Reviews

Impressive acting, thought-out set design in production of “Rent”

  • Rayna Stallings
  • May 7, 2023
  • 0

Theatre and Performance Studies students put on another amazing musical with extremely talented actors and a stage crew.

  • News

Highpoint Cafe opens at The Summit

  • Rayna Stallings
  • March 27, 2023
  • 0

Highpoint Cafe offers new dynamic options that have never been seen before

  • News

Upperclassmen struggle with on-campus housing availability

  • Rayna Stallings
  • March 20, 2023
  • 0

Waitlists run high this year as upperclassmen apply for housing.

  • News

On-campus employment: Students’ two cents

  • Rayna Stallings
  • February 17, 2023
  • 0

Though on-campus and seasonal jobs may be a great benefit to some students, others are struggling with these schedules.

  • News

Commuter students struggle with traffic, public transportation, parking

  • Rayna Stallings
  • February 6, 2023
  • 0

Commuter students struggle to make it to school on time due to traffic and poor parking conditions.

  • Opinion

OPINION: KSU’s response to hate crime of Jalique Rosemond unacceptable

  • Rayna Stallings
  • February 6, 2023
  • 0

Kennesaw State University shows students of color their lack of support when it comes to hate crimes committed against them.

Inflation hits grocery aisles and students’ appetites
  • News

Inflation hits grocery aisles and students’ appetites

  • Rayna Stallings
  • January 23, 2023
  • 0

Grocery prices are rising due to inflation and college students are finding ways to deal with it.

MLK Legacy Breakfast hosts Atlanta mayor
  • News

MLK Legacy Breakfast hosts Atlanta mayor

  • Rayna Stallings
  • January 23, 2023
  • 0

KSU’s MLK Legacy Breakfast on Jan. 13 honored the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens.

  • News

Students look back on fall semester events

  • Rayna Stallings
  • November 28, 2022
  • 0

The fall semester was full of exciting opportunities for students to get involved on and off campus.

  • News

Student organizes fundraiser for Mali

  • Rayna Stallings
  • November 14, 2022
  • 0

Kennesaw State student Kadi Doumbia raised hundreds of dollars this month to provide necessary medical care supplies to a clinic in Mali.

Marietta campus celebrates 12th Annual Pumpkin Launch
  • News

Marietta campus celebrates 12th Annual Pumpkin Launch

  • Rayna Stallings
  • October 31, 2022
  • 0

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No! It’s a pumpkin!

Posts pagination

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The Sentinel logo

The Sentinel is the student newspaper of Kennesaw State University. Since 1966, The Sentinel has provided an open forum to the campus community. It is published in print monthly and online weekly.

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Accessibility Statement

Copyright © 2025 The Sentinel Theme: Fact News By Adore Themes.

KENNESAW, Ga. — Since October 1963, KSU Student Media has dedicated itself to authentic storytelling and exceptional journalism written by the students, for the students. Over the past two academic years, Student Media at Kennesaw State University has seen significant traction and promise through strong student leadership and ambitious
initiatives.

OWL Radio, The Sentinel Newspaper and The Peak Magazine have grown into organizations whose reach, whether through written word or radio broadcast, touches tens of thousands of students.

Despite the lack of institutional support, Sentinel and OWL Radio have been nominated for the Atlanta Press Club 2026 Awards of Excellence and the GABBY awards for Student Radio, respectively.

Kennesaw State University administration is hindering progress by stripping the key funding for The Sentinel, The Peak and OWL Radio.

On March 23, KSU announced that there were no remaining funds for Student Media. This eradicated the possibility for additional physical prints for The Sentinel or The Peak and drastically cut funding for OWL Radio’s event programming. The justification of the funding removal does not come with a promise of better housing, parking, or safety on campus for students. Rather, it comes with KSU’s neglect of their debt to their music licensing budget.

For the fiscal year, Student Media was allocated a $97,000 budget by the Division of Student Affairs. However, instead of the entirety going to Student Media, $61,185.99 of the budget paid for music licensing fees for Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) and Student Affairs as a whole.

This move through budgeting resulted in Student Media paying not just the debt for the music licensing, but Kennesaw State University’s ability to play music across campus freely.
Despite only being responsible for part of the music licensing costs, Student Media’s budget covers almost all of KSU’s music licensing fees, excluding athletics. These fees take up 63.08% of Student Media’s total budget, meaning OWL Radio, The Peak and The Sentinel are only receiving a fraction of the funding they need to function.

Here’s the truth: Kennesaw State is disinterested in the growth of Student Media.

We are in a dangerous and pivotal time in American History. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, under the Trump Administration, Press Freedoms have been dubbed “no longer a given” by the organization.

Student reporting and radio operations are becoming more crucial by the day to cover important topics larger media outlets look away from, and the stripping of funding follows a dangerous step for KSU’s perspective on Press and Broadcasting Freedoms.

This follows a concerning enrollment pattern in KSU’s journalism program while other university papers, such as the University of Georgia’s Red & Black and Emory University’s The Emory Wheel, continue to thrive. Editorial Board: KSU’s Neglect of Student Media Is Unacceptable

The university’s journalism program, which did not exist until 2017 according to Campus Enrollment Data, saw early success, with peak enrollment numbers in 2018 and 2020. However, the program has seen a steady decline since 2021.

Instead of taking the time to invest in its journalism students, KSU has opted to invest into their athletic department, pouring millions of dollars into sports and freshmen generations, including a $15 million dollar naming deal with FifthThirds Stadium and a lack of housing or class priority for students who classify as non-freshman.

Fundamentally, Kennesaw State’s recent history has been defined by an administration that has neglected the student body and proven repeatedly that KSU’s priorities are financially tied to athletics and tuition revenue from incoming classes.

To have a thriving campus community, KSU must invest in its student body. Students want a university that cares for each student, not how many students it can accept and pack into a classroom or a stadium. A university is only as great as its students’ success, and without true support, KSU will always fall short.

OWL Radio, The Sentinel and The Peak are calling for the support of the student body, faculty and alumni by donating to Student Media through KSU’s Giving Day. Any amount helps and will allow Student Media to continue quality, student led content.

Signed Kennesaw State University Student Media Editors and Managers, Zaire Breedlove, Devyn Byers, Alexis Barton, Tye Brown, Devyn Woodard, Joey Hawthorne, Mary Wingate, Mafe Gomez, James Harris, Jordan Scruggs, Scott Daniell, Jackson Louneoubon

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