Sometime next term, you will be asked if you support a dollar increase in your student fees to go towards funding CiTR. While a dollar might not seem like much, we believe that an increase in funding to a student organization on that level must be justified by an increase in services.
Though subsidized almost entirely by a per student fee of three dollars, CiTR calls itself a “community” radio station. This is an important distinction, because there are very few ways in which CiTR can legitimately call itself a student radio station. Of the 80 plus shows that CiTR has on the air, only 15 per cent are actually produced by students. The remainder of CiTR’s DJs and many of the staff are not students. They are faculty, alumni and community members who have been grandfathered into the radio station and have stuck around for many years on the basis of seniority. Students, who pay for the operation of CiTR, are by and large not the ones operating the station.
CiTR’s management is concerned about these numbers, and they’re interested in recruiting more students. But there has been no real impetus to change things around the station. The management says part of the reason for the low percentage is because not many students want a radio show. But the onus is on CiTR to create a comprehensive plan to change this—not blame students.
So what would the extra dollar get you? Would it be used to fundamentally change CiTR’s presence on campus, to make their services more student friendly? To make CiTR a campus radio station?
With the current proposal, as outlined by the management, not much changes. There’s free DJ training, which right now only members get. Which reminds us that currently, membership for CiTR isn’t free for students—it costs $20.
We fully support CiTR as it continues to evolve, and think of it as a media partner on this campus. But before management ask students for more money, they should deliver more bang for the buck for their shareholders.
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I understand your opinion about not wanting to pay for a club or organization that you are not a part of, but CiTR DOES provide good opportunities for students, if they would only go and start getting involved. I think one of the issues here is the fact that so many students do not know the radio station exists. I am a student and have been involved with the radio station for three years. It has been a really rewarding experience and I have been able to share it with many other students through my show The Rib, where I have been able to support many of my fellow music students by playing their music on air. Becoming involved with the radio station also gives students an opportunity to participate in many fun events around town. I know there is a fee to join, but there are fees for all UBC clubs, and the fact that the radio station needs so much equipment to operate makes $20 measly considering that you have full reign to use the equipment.
Even though I participate less in some other AMS programs such as the recreation programs, I do not complain about paying fees to help support their existence.
CiTR has made some great efforts in getting students involved with the radio station. We hope that when the new SUB is built, the station will be more visible. For now we’re up on the second floor of the SUB, east wing… a place very few students venture to. If CiTR had more exposure, I know that more students would be at the station getting involved.
My show is student run, it is called Prof Talk and for now airs every second Tuesday. I interview professors from UBC about their ongoing research. It is an important part of CiTR’s programming because students want to know more about the faculty that teach them. We need community radio at UBC. And if it surprises you that there are a number of alumni that are part of CiTR, one of the reasons is that former students want to stay connected to the university. Once the editors of Ubyssey graduate, you too may want to feel connected to a place that brought you so many memories. I’ve been an unclassified student for years (I study for fun now) but the truth is I do not deferentiate the student makeup in my class, be they seniors taking courses, former alumni, first year students outside of high school, PhD students, etc, etc. In the end, the student body at UBC (present and former) are part of a large community and deserve the most respect.
Let’s keep CiTR on the air and get more students involved in radio. I’d be happy to hear about any student interested in getting involved with Prof Talk:
ubcproftalk.blogspot.com
I did a three week work placement at CiTR back in 2008 and I still volunteer regularly with them. When I was over one afternoon one of the community members who’d just wrapped up his his morning show popped his head out of the on-air booth to ask if I might be interested in co-hosting with him. It seems he was trying to phase out but couldn’t find anyone willing to take on the show, even just as a co-host.
I’ve spoken to numerous UBC students who show little interest in checking out CiTR, dismissing it right off the bat in fact, though I’m sure that if they’d give it a chance they’d fall in love. As a young community member (all the way out in White Rock) who’s spoken to lots of students, I too have to put the onus on them.
I too must defend CiTR’s reputation as a great resource for students. Over a year ago, back when I was helping run a student club, we were contacted by CiTR about doing something on air as a club. That spring boarded my show, Radio Freethinker and its proven a huge success for us.
In fact, in our recent episode (number 87) we discussed this very issue with our station manager.