Michael Koretzky has one word to describe the relationship between the student government and the student newspaper at Florida Atlantic University.

"Tense," said Koretzky, adviser for the University Press. "And it doesn't seem to be getting any better. They (the student government members) are obviously unhappy with us as a news organization and we are not getting the support we need and should expect from a student government. It's a disappointing situation and I don't know how or when it's going to improve."

The trouble all began last October when the student government gave its officers a 25 percent pay raise without making a public announcement. The paper began reporting the story, without much cooperation from board members. In November, the University Press released a story that claimed the student government leaders had given themselves retroactive pay raises as well. And that, Koretzky said, is when the student government took a "special interest" in the day to day activities at the paper.

First there were reports that the student government was going to freeze the paper's payroll and possibly even shut down the newspaper as the staff had not been holding to a student government mandated 20 office hours a week schedule.

What eventually did happen is that the student government suspended the newspaper's editor in chief selection process, stating that Koretzky violated ethical guidelines when he changed the committee's selection process to ensure he had less power over the committee. Student government officials said they had never cleared such a move.

Then, in December, Alvira Khan, the student body president ordered the University Press staff to turn over keys to the office by no later than Dec. 20, stating that employment contracts for the newspaper staff had not been officially signed by an editor in chief and therefore the staffers weren't official employees and should not have keys to the building. The reason the contracts weren't signed is because of the government-imposed delays in the editor in chief selection process, Koretzky said.

"It's just one thing after the other, with no notice," he said. "We felt we were being attacked for the stories we did."

But in earlier interviews, Khan said that was simply not the case.

"There's no singling out of one person or one agency or one organization," she said. "If you don't have a contract and you're not an employee, then you can't have a key to the office."

The newspaper was facing a potential lockout until a meeting was set up between student government officials, newspaper officials and Dean of Student Affairs Leslie Bates. As a result of that meeting, the student government issued temporary contracts that expired in early February, giving newspaper executives enough time to find an editor in chief who could sign official extended contracts.

After the meeting, the office of student affairs released a statement that read, "we are pleased that through collaborative efforts, the university administration, the University Press and the student government were able to come to an arrangement that will allow the student newspaper to meet its mission and produce its editions as regularly scheduled ... It is a position of the university that First Amendment rights have been preserved and all policies have been followed. We will now work together to ensure that the mission of the university is met."

Unfortunately, the problems didn't stop there. When executives at the newspaper finally selected an editor in chief, there was concern that the board would purposely deny their required approval, thus leaving the newspaper back at square one. Koretzky said communication with the student government had broken down in that nobody was returning phone calls and meetings were planned without giving the newspaper notice.

When the board did meet in February, the members did approve the newspapers selection of Lily Ladeira as the new editor in chief. However, there were problems with the newspaper's budget that has staffers riled up yet again.

Koretzky said the newspaper had asked for a 2 percent budget increase for the next fiscal year. Instead, the student government cut the paper's budget by $5,000, a move that Koretzky said was the final straw.

"You can tell that all of this is retaliation for a group of journalists doing their job and doing it well," he said. "We're not sure what to do. We're going to go to hire administrators and try and seek help, but this is tough and it's a headache we don't need and shouldn't have to deal with."

Student government officials did not return phone calls on this issue.

The drama at Florida Atlantic has attracted the attention of several national media organizations, including the Student Press Law Center.

"This is sadly common ... we're seeing student governments all over the country cutting budgets and causing problems for student newspapers," said Mark Goodman, director of the center. "What's ironic is that these statutes that give student government control over student newspapers were created in the 1970s to hopefully protect the newspapers from university administrators. Now, in many cases, the student governments are becoming the problem."

At Florida Atlantic, the newspaper and the office of student affairs are exploring ways to make the newspaper independent of the student government, but no progress has been made.

"We'll see what happens," Koretzky said. "Because right now, this isn't really working."