Last Wednesday, ASUO Student Senate member Dallas Brown proposed reconsidering a November Senate decision to give about $275,429 to student radio station KWVA and to make it an EMU-funded program
(“Senators reconsider transferring KWVA 88.1,” ODE Feb. 17). The switch was intended to allow KWVA, a longtime student-run organization, to receive stable funding and no longer be subjected to the whim of the Programs Finance Committee process. The station requires personnel and equipment to meet federal requirements that it broadcast 24 hours a day.
Brown, the only senator to vote against the switch, made the proposal because he said a decision to add a full-time non-student manager position took the program out of students’ hands.
Students also debated the manager’s $62,397 annual salary.
Although the Senate may have the power to reconsider the switch, we believe the EMU Board of Directors should address this issue; the Senate lost its chance, and KWVA needs stable funding. The addition of a non-student adviser, while not ideal, is certainly not unusual among campus media outlets around the nation.
However, we question why a manager requires roughly $60,000 yearly. Isn’t it possible to find a recent graduate, perhaps of KWVA itself, who can work for less money and gain further valuable experience? Part of KWVA’s mission statement is training, and that training should prepare someone for management. We are not convinced that such an expensive position is the best solution.