More opposition has gathered against the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts restructuring proposal.

A group of MCMA students approached Rob Taylor, Senate chair of Undergraduate Student Government, with the intent to petition the MCMA administration for not allowing student input on the proposal.

MCMA released a proposal March 11 to restructure the college into two schools and one service unit. One school, the School of Media Arts, would contain more theory and the other, the School of Public Communication, would house multi-platform news and integrated marketing. WSIU would be considered a service unit. MCMA faculty will decide whether to restructure when they vote April 30. Details of how the college would restructure would not be announced until the summer and fall months.

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As reported in the DAILY EGYPTIAN, Gary Kolb, MCMA associate dean, said the college is creating a website for the administration to receive feedback from the students.

A group of cinema and photography students is also opposed to the proposal for lack of student involvement and because a previous proposal mentioned eliminating silver-based photography. There is no mention of eliminating silver-based photography in the newest proposal. Voting will take place at various places on campus, including the Student Center and dining halls.

The referendum was passed at USG’s meeting Wednesday night with overwhelming approval by the Senate. This was the last meeting before Senate presidential elections Tuesday. Since the referendum was passed, it will be on Taylor’s president/vice president ticket, and any student will be able to vote on the referendum when they vote for the president.

“This is probably the most dynamic college on campus because we are in the communication age,” Taylor said. “There is so much going on and so many changes, and to not have enough or a lot of student input could be, I think, detrimental to the college.”

Taylor said the referendum is just another form of communication between the students and the administration.

“SIUC faculty and administration have failed to allow the very students who will be affected to participate in the planning of this proposal,” said the referendum. “Therefore, the Undergraduate Student Government finds that the administration and faculty developed this proposal without the participation of the students of SIUC.”

Taylor said the biggest complaint both USG and the students have is that no administration included them in the process.

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“There has been very little information coming into the constituency bodies about this college restructuring,” he said.