KECC, the school radio station, has been shut down this semester due to space being needed in the Student Activities Center, Douglas Marston, club adviser said.
“The end of the 2009 spring semester was the last time it ran and it has been off air this semester and clearly will be next semester,” Marston said.
The student radio station was first located in a spare room in the Student Services Center. Then it was relocated to the Student Activities Center.
“The program was located where the bookstore is now, but they claimed that they needed every square inch,” Marston said.
Harold Tyler, director of student development said,the station was first introduced in 1960.
“I was amazed when he told me that it existed in 1960,” Marston said. “But to my knowledge, the radio station had started in 1995, when I became club adviser, he said.
The radio station is not like large stations we hear on the radio at home or in our cars.
The low voltage frequency of the radio station meant it could only be heard on campus is certain areas.
“Over air, it reached the Library Lawn and the Student Activities Center itself,” Marston said.
KECC was a student ran operation where students decided their own topics, played music, had discussions and did anything to keep the campus interested in listening.
“EC’s radio station was the first air play for a couple of local bands,” Marston said. “If a local band came to us with a tape, we would put it on the air as long as it was appropriate.”
The budget cuts did not affect the radio station shutting down. However, what was affected were the former DJ’s and students who were involved.
“The students were quite bummed out because on air they were getting better, then all of a sudden, we had to close down,” Marston said.
So far, there isn’t any word as to when the radio station will return. However, it is up to EC to make it a high priority on the school’s list.
Also, where the radio station will be located is another matter if it were to return.
“We really would like to be back on the air, but it is up to the school and also the students if they really want it,” Marston said.
Students on campus said that the program should not have been closed down because some would like to learn more about the radio, how it works and be apart of it.
“I didn’t know EC had its own radio station,” Mike Evans, 20, criminal justice major, said. “I think that it would be good to bring it back because this is a new generation and we want to be informed,” he said.
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Campus radio station signs off
By Janae' Green
•
October 29, 2009
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