The campus radio station, WRPI 91.5 FM, has been receiving a great deal of attention lately, following an article that ran in Metroland last week.
The article in Metroland provided a harsh critique of the way students have been running WRPI recently, but the critique was from the viewpoints of several community members whose shows had been cut. Though there is some truth in the article, it is heavily slanted toward those community members who felt taken advantage of, at least in part due to the fact that WRPI leaders declined comment.
The truth is that there are different perspectives on this issue. Steve Pierce, president of the “Friends of WRPI,” said via e-mail that the station is a very precious resource that shouldn’t be treated lightly in regard to the debate over different viewpoints.
Many students at WRPI feel that a majority of the community members do a great job, and according to Jeremy Kauffman ’07, they hope for many members of the community to stay with WRPI indefinitely. “Without the support of community members,” he said, “I don’t think our radio station could function.”
The community members of the station provide students with experience and guidance; however, certain members of the “Friends of WRPI” have begun intimidating student members of WRPI through the threat of losing the Friends’ large financial contribution to the station.
The “Friends of WRPI” was founded about 10 years ago and has come to consist mostly of community members. It was initially formed to raise funds for WRPI, support student leadership, and increase community involvement in the station. This group has become almost as powerful as the Executive Committee because of the financial role they play in the station’s existence; however, they have recently been at odds with the student leadership of WRPI.
The E-Board is taking measures to ameliorate the problem between the community members and the members of the radio station. WRPI currently consists of 53 students, two faculty members, eight alumni, two RPI staff members, two students from other colleges, and 36 community members, bringing total membership for WRPI to 103 members.
The “2006-2007 Budget Policy and Procedures” states that “The volunteer or non-affiliated membership of an organization should not equal more than 5 percent of the total membership without E-Board approval,” a longstanding Union policy. The E-Board passed a motion at yesterday’s meeting that stated the WRPI station is to move toward compliance with the 5 percent community membership, or to present otherwise to the E-Board by December 5 (the current number of community members is approximately 35 percent).
For the WRPI station to meet FCC guidelines, it must broadcast programs for a certain amount of time each day; this presents a problem, particularly during breaks and in the early hours of the morning. Community members became an integral part of the station by taking over these time spots with broadcasts, but tensions rose with recent changes in leadership at the station.
Some of the programs currently scheduled on the radio station did not appeal to the student body. Therefore, certain community members’ programs, which in some cases had been on the air for several years, were cut.
Some community members, like those quoted in the Metroland article, as well as some students, feel that WRPI students with leadership positions are abusing their power. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “The future these students see includes only what matters to them, but not to the listeners.”
Students leaders at WRPI, however, feel that the changes they are making are for the best of the station, and they hope to have more student-produced material on WRPI, not simply just what would appeal to the students. “We want to maintain something the community will still listen to,” said Kauffman.
The station is working to obtain an automation machine so that the programs can be pre-recorded. This would eliminate the heavy dependence on community members to staff the station when students aren’t available to do so. The station is also continually looking to expand the number of programs run by students.
Several students at WRPI felt tension had reached more of a boiling point six to eight months ago, and hence there was a meeting held over the summer to try and focus what needed to happen with the station to maintain ties between community members and students.
“There is an address that the community members can send e-mails to with comments about the station,” said Brian “Seth” Kane, ’07. “We think that took care of some of the problems.”
The E-Board hopes that the motion passed today will help the E-Comm come back into overall control of the radio station and allow students to have more freedom within the station without the looming threat of backlash from community members.
The station wants to emphasize the fact that, though a large group, it is an outspoken minority of the community members that are causing the problems with the station; generally speaking, the community members have provided a great service to the station. This topic is going to remain a hot issue on campus over the next few weeks.
