Board presses administration on cadet newspaper permit; administration says permit and MOU near approval

A board member raised concerns that the cadet newspaper has been operating without a formal permit for several years and that editors said they had not heard back from the administration following earlier meetings. The board member urged the administration to finish the process and warned that conditioning a permit on routing all newspaper funds through the institute could raise First Amendment issues of control.

The superintendent said the administration and executive staff (excluding athletics) had prepared a draft permit and an MOU with the Cadet Foundation and that the permit was "largely complete" and ready for the commandant's stamp. He said the MOU spells out the working arrangement between the Cadet Foundation and the institute and that the documents could be transmitted to the foundation by close of business this week; he also said the board would receive a transmittal letter and copies of both the permit and the MOU.

Why it matters: The board member said the lack of a permit hinders the cadet paper's ability to recruit staff and to offer customary schedule adjustments to cadets working on the publication. He characterized the issue as a board concern because alumni and others are pressing the board for action.

Next steps: The superintendent said the permit and MOU would be posted to the board portal and that the administration would notify the board when materials are available. The committee did not vote on the permit during the session.