State Press podcast transcripts are produced by a third-party transcription service and may contain errors. The official record for State Press podcasts is the audio. Please listen to the audio as this transcript may only contain summary forms of the given episode.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
Every semester, The State Press sits down with ASU President Michael Crow. Seven State Press reporters and editors gathered in a Fulton Center conference room last month.
Amber Victoria Singer:
On November 9th they discussed some of the most pressing issues of this past Fall, including the University’s support of Israel, student-athletes' pay, and the lack of an on-campus LGBTQ center. I’m Amber Victoria Singer.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
I’m Gabriella Fernbaugh, and this is State Press Play.
Amber Victoria Singer:
This week, we talk with three State Pressers who sat across from President Crow for that hour-long conversation, or CROW-versation, if you will.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
State Press science and technology editor River Graziano is with me now to break down the conversation. Hello River.
River Graziano:
Hello.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
So when Michael Crow entered the room, were the tensions high?
River Graziano:
We were honestly pretty excited since most of us had never done this before. In his office, we took one side of this big conference room table. And Michael Crow was on the other side with Chris Fiscus and James Rund.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
And what topics were most important for President Crow to cover?
River Graziano:
We talked about university statements on recent conflicts, student athletes, art funding, ethics development and the possibility of an LGBTQ+ resource center.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
So sports at ASU have experienced major highs and major lows this semester. What were some topics Crow discussed regarding the student athlete pay?
River Graziano:
So he mentioned that the move to the Big 12 was ultimately a positive thing for the university, especially for the smaller sports. But what stood out most to me was his strong stance against the university potentially paying their student athletes as employees. In the meeting, crow explained his stance on it.
Michael Crow:
I don't support it. And so I hope that we can find another another pathway. This is a college. These are college students. They received scholarships for their tuition including out-of-state tuition, room and board and receive special services. The investment that we're making now, for a college athlete, is more per athlete per year than 60% of the population makes as a salary in the United States.
To hear more from Graziano and President Crow, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: Michael Crow discusses University's support of Israel, student-athlete pay, ethics development
Amber Victoria Singer:
I spoke with State Press politics editor Alysa Horton and State Press senior reporter, Alex Wakefield, who were also at the meeting. I started off by asking about something that's been a really pressing on-campus matter lately. The university stance on the Israel/Gaza conflict.
Alysa Horton:
One of the major things that I took away that was really interesting was the fact that he made a clear distinction between the war between between Israel and Palestine and the war being between Israel and Hamas. That distinction was very interesting to me after the university released a letter in support of Israel.
Alex Wakefield:
Yeah, he specifically brought up a series of incidents that happened on the October 7th attacks as kind of justification for, you know, doing something that he described as, you know, unconventional, which is like signing on to something outside of ASU something going on, you know, that is in some ways related to ASU. Like obviously, it's us Israeli and Palestinian students. But what he didn't do was mention, you know, some of the other things happening in the conflict on the other side, and why, ASU took a specific stance on one side, and maybe not the other.
To hear more from Horton and Wakefield, please tune in to State Press Play.
Amber Victoria Singer:
And that’s all for this week’s episode of State Press Play, I’m Amber Victoria Singer.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
I’m Gabriella Fernbaugh. You can follow State Press on X and Instagram at State Press.
Amber Victoria Singer:
Our managing team is Alexis Heichman and Reece Andrews. Shane Brennan is our editor-in-chief, and Angelina Steel is our executive editor. Our original music is by Jake LeRoux and Ellie Willard.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
A special thanks to Amber Victoria Singer for being an amazing desk editor this past semester. And congratulations on graduating!
Amber Victoria Singer:
Yay, thank you! I'm feeling excited and nervous. I’m also super happy to announce that my co-host Gabriella Fernbaugh, my day one on the podcast desk, will be taking my position next semester.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
I'm so excited about next semester but we will definitely miss you Amber.
Amber Victoria Singer:
I am super excited to see what’s next for the State Press Podcast desk.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
See you next semester, devils.
