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Category: Guest Columns

Agree or disagree? Use the ‘Join the Discussion’ option below each opinion piece, or submit your own Guest Column.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in columns on this page and in the Opinion Section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Sentinel, KSU Student Media, Kennesaw State University, or the Georgia Board of Regents.
Review our Comment Policy.

  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Guest Columns
KSU’s admin underestimates the value of philosophy
  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

KSU’s admin underestimates the value of philosophy

  • Dagny Haim
  • April 25, 2025
  • 0

[NOTE: This article is a product and reflection of Dagny Haim, Abigail Cuttle and the entire executive board of the Philosophy Student Association at KSU.] […]

OPINION: Americans are missing Russian voices
  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

OPINION: Americans are missing Russian voices

  • Hunter Cawood
  • September 17, 2018
  • 0

Americans and Russians tend to agree when both sides know what the other side is saying.

  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Sunshine Week a Reminder Transparency’s Still Clouded

  • Writer
  • March 13, 2017
  • 0

Guest Commentary by Benita M. Dodd March 12-18 is Sunshine Week. Launched in 2005, the initiative promotes open government and pushes back against “excessive official secrecy.” […]

  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Opinion: Don’t fret about Trump’s taxes

  • Ayomide Awodu
  • January 17, 2017
  • 0

Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump lost a billion dollars in a single year and has allegedly avoided paying half that amount in taxes — an action that has offended many Americans but which Trump says is “smart.”

  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Guest Opinion: Trump’s environmental plans will be a complete disaster for our planet

  • Guest Column
  • January 17, 2017
  • 1

With this election, in terms of the environment, we have taken a huge step backward — so far backward that we very likely can never step forward again.

Guest commentary: Reflections on Sam Olens protest
  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Guest commentary: Reflections on Sam Olens protest

  • Guest Column
  • January 16, 2017
  • 1

Ultimately, this is why TRANScend KSU was created: to provide a safe space where transgender and gender non-conforming students can come for support.

  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Guest Commentary: What is Terrorism?

  • Writer
  • September 20, 2016
  • 1

In the wake of these recent attacks, the idea of terrorism has become a major talking point in the news. After these terrible incidents classifying […]

Capes not optional: “Superheroes for Orphans” 5k Walk/Run is Oct. 8
  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Capes not optional: “Superheroes for Orphans” 5k Walk/Run is Oct. 8

  • Writer
  • September 15, 2016
  • 1

Guest Commentary by Brianne Broyles Today, I’m sitting in a Starbucks outside of Atlanta, typing on my MacBook laptop, sipping on an iced green tea and […]

Debunking the myth: opposites don’t attract
  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Debunking the myth: opposites don’t attract

  • Katherine White
  • September 12, 2016
  • 0

Psychology professor Katherine White addresses the old expression that “opposites attract.”

  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Letter to the editor: KSU takes steps to educate students and promote wellness

  • Kaitlyn Lewis
  • August 25, 2016
  • 0

Submitted by Michael Polacek, the assistant program coordinator of the Center for Young Addiction and Recovery at Kennesaw State University

  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Guest Commentary: One man’s thoughts on the Orlando massacre

  • Writer
  • June 14, 2016
  • 0

Orlando. We associate the city with many things. Disney World. Universal Studios. Epcot. Now, we associate it with death. I’m sitting here, unable to sleep. […]

  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion

Memorial Day Thanks for Better Days after Battle Scars

  • Writer
  • May 27, 2016
  • 0

Commentary By Benita Dodd Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May. Most Americans take a moment from picnics on the unofficial start […]

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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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