I am writing this letter in an attempt to perhaps put some public pressure on the leadership (or lack thereof) of RPI’s student-run radio station, WRPI. On the evening of Friday, January 26, hundreds of RPI hockey fans (including myself) were thoroughly frustrated when the WRPI radio broadcast of the Engineers’ game vs. the University of Vermont was cut off early in the second period as the station inexplicably went off the air. By trading messages with some fellow fans on an Internet message board, I was able to discern that there was apparently no engineer willing to work the station that night, and the one who was there for the beginning of the game had to leave. Consequently, the station went off the air for about fifteen minutes. As a result, mystified RPI fans were left to wonder what had befallen their beloved Engineers, and even missed the second goal of the game. The station continued to cut in and out throughout the rest of the game. All total, nearly one third of the game went unheard by Engineer fans.

This incident was absolutely inexcusable, and completely preventable. I cannot believe that at a technical institute with over 4,000 undergrads, WRPI couldn’t find one person willing to sit in the DCC for three lousy hours on a Friday evening. And this is not the first time something like this has happened. Having listened to RPI’s away games on the radio for several years, I can recall several times in the last year and half in which WRPI’s feed has been interrupted thanks to a faux pas in the booth. I have always been a staunch supporter of leaving WRPI and other student-run groups in the hands of the students, despite the attempts of the ‘Tute’s administration to take some of them over. However, perhaps it is time for the administration to step in and give the students some help with running WRPI. Perhaps the Athletic Department or the Alumni Association could get involved to ensure that RPI hockey (and football, which has also had its share of cutoffs) can continue to be heard by all us loyal fans.

My first inclination was to e-mail the student leadership of WRPI with my concerns, but I was told by an inside source (who wished to remain anonymous) that doing so would be an exercise in futility. Apparently, the student leadership of the station just doesn’t care, and would have dismissed my complaint. So here I am, voicing my concerns in a public forum, hoping that the very students who fund WRPI (and the broadcasts of Engineer hockey) with their activity fees will pressure the station to clean up their act a bit. Hopefully, this kind of incident can be prevented in the future.

William G. von Achen