An agreement to document the relationship between the Iowa State Daily and Iowa State University is awaiting finishing touches before it can be signed by either party.

The agreement is being created to officially record what the relationship of the Daily, a non-profit, private organization and affiliate of ISU, is to the university.

The Daily, which has existed for more than 100 years at ISU, has never officially defined its relationship with the university, Daily General Manager Janette Antisdel said.

“There is nothing new in this agreement. It is just what has been in the past will now be written down,” she said.

Jeffrey Stein, attorney for the Daily, said the Daily is an affiliate of the university, meaning it is separate from the university even though it is located on university ground. Under the new agreement, the university still may not control the paper’s content or financial dealings, but it may request that the Daily inform university officials of any changes made in the bylaws, Stein said.

“The whole idea of the agreement is not supposed to change anything. It allows us to do whatever we need to run our corporation,” Stein said.

The agreement also protects the university, he said, because it ensures that the Daily will not change the way it uses its space without first getting the university’s permission.

According to the agreement between the Daily and the university, the newspaper will not pay rent to the university to use the space in Hamilton Hall. Instead, the newspaper promises to act as an educational tool to provide journalism experience to ISU students. Stein said this written agreement is just formalizing an already informal relationship.

Paul Tanaka, director of University Legal Services, said the university is writing the agreement to clarify the role of the Daily and the university in supporting the Daily.

Tanaka said the relationship between the Daily and the university operated on tradition rather than explicit documentation. When the Daily decided to start a new publication — the University Times, Tanaka said it was a surprise to the university.

“We thought it was time to discuss what was acceptable for the Publication Board in terms of space and the university. Our fundamental purpose is to make sure we don’t get our signals crossed,” Tanaka said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, neither the Daily nor the university had signed the agreement. Tanaka said the final drafts of the agreement are being made and the attorneys are making sure that everyone is happy with the way it is written. He had no estimation of when the agreement will be finished.

Antisdel said she views the agreement with the university as a positive opportunity for the Daily and everyone involved. She said the university administration has been very positive and accommodating throughout the situation.

“The Daily Publication Board is also being very cooperative. We’re good university citizens preserving the integrity of our product,” Antisdel said.