CHRISTY HERBES
staff writer
WQFS, Guilford's student-run
radio station, is in danger of merg
ing with an outside station. Stu
dent managers are presently bat
tling a proposal that would take full
control of the station away from
Guilford students.
An organization called Triad
Radio Project Inc. (TRP) gave
WQFS the proposal last semester,
asking if WQFS was interested in
forming a partnership to create a
non-profit community radio sta
tion for the Piedmont Triad, in
cluding students and community
members as staff.
The managers of the '94-'95
WQFS staff relayed this proposal
to the semester's d.j.'s and the d.j.'s
unanimously showed disinterest in
the proposal. However, the mat
ter remained open for future dis
cussion if necessary.
At that point in time, the pro
posal should have gone before the
Student Senate for review, but due
to the proximity of the proposal to
the end of the school year, the re
view was postponed until the Fall
95 semester.
The matter was scheduled to be
discussed further after the return
of the students from summer va
cation, but before a discussion date
was scheduled, a new letter of pro
posal was delivered on September
14 to the Provost and Board of
Trustees.
In the letter addressed to the Pro
vost, TRP Inc. states, "Our work
to create a cooperative effort be
tween Guilford College and the
Triad Radio Project Inc. has not
been fruitful. Still, we are deter-
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WQFS to share the air?
Tri
ad group pushing to split the non-profit frequency
mined to pursue our goal of a com
munity station in the area."
In response to the letter, the Gen
eral Manager of WQFS, J. Kelly
Davis, replied, "My understanding
of the situation at the end of the
school year was that WQFS and
TRP Inc. were going to continue
discussion working towards some
sort of agreement."
Davis continued, "I saw many
good things in the proposal that
could help both the station and the
students, but there were several
logistical problems that needed to
be worked out. No one from Triad
Radio Project has talked to me or
any student representatives since
the end of school, so I don't un
derstand why they have deemed
our efforts fruitless."
The remaining portion of the let
ter verifies TRP Inc. as a capable
non-profit organization to share
the frequency currently used by
WQFS. It goes on to propose a
Federal Communications Com
mission (FCC) policy known as
"time-sharing" that "allows two
different entities to operate on the
same frequency (at different
times), without any connection
other than an agreement on broad
cast schedules."
The proposal would allow the
two groups to use completely sepa
rate facilities, transmitters, and
towers while operating on the
same frequency, sharing different
hours.
The letter then formally requests
"the cooperation of the Board of
Trustees of Guilford College, as
licenseholders for WQFS, in de
termining a reasonable agreement
on broadcast hours under the
FCC." The letter further requests
news
the Board to come to a decision
about the issue before the last day
of October, 1995.
The Triad Radio Project recog
nizes the fact that there may be
opposition to the proposal, but the
TRP implores the board to work
with them because they feel it
would be "mutually beneficial" to
both parties involved. If the Board
chooses to decline the proposal,
then the letter reports that TRP
does have the option to file an ap
plication with the FCC.
In response to the "time sharing"
proposal, Davis states:
"Since the station is student-run,
we have a fluctuating schedule
conforming to the college's aca
demic calendar. This means that
our broadcasting has not been con
sistent at times for the general pub
lic. Although not able to broadcast
a maximum of 24 hrs., the station
has always met the FCC broadcast
requirements."
Davis wpnt on to say that his
"concern is that if WQFS gives a
block of time to TRP, then there
will be times in the future where
students are not able to do shows.
This limits programming and lim
its students on the whole. I fear that
TRP, with all its good intentions,
may fail to recognize the impact
that "time sharing" would have on
WQFS."
Andy Ah earn, a music manager
for WQFS, is concerned as well.
In response to the proposal Ahearn
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states: 'Triad Radio Project wants
to kill something that is essential
to this community. WQFS has
been student-run and operated
since its conception, and I feel that
any cancellation or change would
be disastrous to the Guilford com
munity and student body."
Ahearn also commented,
"WQFS was ranked third in the
nation by Princeton Review for
college-run stations two years ago.
I feel that WQFS will be number
one and that can only occur if it
remains student-run, because the
students, managers, and d.j's at
Guilford College convey what we
want to hear, and no one else can
do better."
The matter is currently being
discussed amongst the WQFS staff
and the administration, although
the Provost of Guilford College,
Daniel Poteet, shares similar views
News Brief
Board of Trustees to meet this weekend
Provost Dan Poteet reports the following are on the agenda
for the Trustees' meeting this weekend.
1) Presidential Search
2) Continuing campaign for fundraising for the future
3) This year's & next year's budget
4) Retention rate
5) Update on summer facility work
6) Military recruitment on campus
7) Various other agenda items
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Poteet states, "The college's po
sition continues to be that WQFS
should remain an independent ra
dio station and would lose its iden
tity by merging with TRP"
Poteet goes on to say that "A
merger with any organization
would sacrifice student control,
influence, and educational oppor
tunities that go along with this
idea."
No decision regarding the pro
posal has yet been made.
The staff at WQFS would appre
ciate any student feedback or sup
port concerning this issue, since it
is one that affects the students di
rectly. If you would like to give
input or feedback, please either
write WQFS or call the station at
316-2352. Student involvement is
what has kept WQFS operating
since it was conceived, so please
call or write to share your opinions.
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