The Rice Thresher, Vol. 88, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 1, 2000 Page: 1 of 1

                                
the Rice Thresher
Vol. LXXXVII1, Issue No. 14 — EXTRA (midnight)
SINCE 1916
Friday, December 1, 2000
Over 350 meet with Camacho about KTRU
Camacho says there is no timetable as to when students can return to radio station
by Olivia Allison
THHF.SHFR KDITOKIAI STAFF
Over 350 people, mostly under-
graduate students, attended last
night's meeting between KTRU staff,
Zenaido Camacho and John
Hutchinson to discuss the future of
KTRU after the station's regular pro-
gramming was suspended yester-
day morning.
The crowd, at least (50 percent
undergraduates, began filling the
seats in Room 301 of Sewall Hall
about 10 minutes before the meet-
ing started at 0 p.m. By the time the
meeting began, people had filled the
aisles and more were waiting out-
side both doors of the room.
Many students who attended the
meeting wore KTRU bumper stick-
ers on their clothing to show sup-
port for the station. Other students
wore shirts with the words "Rice
University, Enemy of Art" written
on them. Two plainclothes Univer-
sity Police officers, Sgt. I-es Hulsey
and Officer Lisa Heiden, also at-
tended the meeting, as well as at
least three network television crews
and several reporters.
KTRU Station Manager and Will
Rice College senior Johnny So be-
gan the meeting by asking Camacho,
the vice president for Student Af-
fairs, to explain why he suspended
student programming on the station
and replaced it with the World Radio
Network.
Camacho and Hutchinson, assis-
tant vice president for Student Af-
fairs, entered the KTRU office about
8 a.m. yesterday and told Wiess Col-
lege sophomore Kristin Steelier, the
1 )J on duty, that KTRl J was no longer
going to be on the air.
Camacho said he wanted to hear
students' opinions first before an-
swering the question. "I'd like to
first hear from the students because
1 know how angry you are," he said.
However, the audience insisted
that Camacho answer So's question.
Camacho then presented prepared
remarks on the subject, saying he
took KFRU off the air to end the
conflict-filled negotiations about the
number of athletic events that would
be broadcast on the station.
Camacho added that he did notknow
how long it would be before K TRU
airs again.
'The primary basis for doing this
is, in the last few months, it has
become quite clear to me that we
could notcontinueon the road we've
been following," Camacho said. "It's
one where collaboration and com-
promise did not take place."
Negotiations between Athletics
and the K1RIJ Oversight Commit-
I-
„ BRIAN STOLER/THRESHER
Members of the audience applauded after KTRU DJ and Computer Science graduate student John Clements gave his
rebuttal to Vice President for Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho's initial speech.
tee began in September. The com-
mittee recommended that KTRU
broadcast three to four games per
week, in addition to rrtost tourna-
ment games. Camacho approved this
recommendation Wednesday to be
instated for the next two years.
At the meeting, Camacho out-
lined four main changed he believes
are necessary for KTRU. Many mem-
bers of the audience booed and
groaned as Camacho spoke.
First, Camacho said, lie believes
KTRU should be a "university-
owned, student-operated radio sta-
tion with appropriate lines of account-
ability."
Second, Camacho said because
the Board of Trustees owns KTRU's
Federal Communications Commis-
sion license, the station's policy re-
quires that President Malcolm Gillis
approve all policy changes regard-
ing the station. Camacho said Gillis
has delegated this responsibility to
him.
Third, Camacho said a KTRl) ad-
visory committee should be created,
with members of the committee a|>
pointed by himself. This committee
would advise Gillisand Camacho on
policy decisions regarding KTRU.
Camacho concluded his remarks
by saying that a station manager
should be elected by the undergradu-
ate student body. This manager
would direct student programming
with guidance from KTRU General
Manager Will Robedee, who is an
employee of Student Affairs.
"There will be a student KTRU,
but it will.be clear that there will be
RRIAN STOICR.'THRESHFB
Vice President for Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho and KTRU Station
Manager and Will Rice College senior Johnny So explain what happened
yesterday morning when KTRU was shut down at last night's meeting.
lines of authority," he said.
Computer science graduate stu-
dent John Clements then presented
prepared remarks in opposition to
Camacho's statements. Clements is
a member of the KTRU Oversight
Committee and he said the adminis-
tration acted inappropriately.
"'Today a great wrong has been
wrought," Clements, a DJ at KTRU,
said. "Without a warning, without
conscience and without right,
Zenaido Camacho and Malcolm
Gillis have undone 30 years of hard
work and selfless labor."
Furthermore, Clements said, the
timing of the shutdown at the end of
the semester and on the morning
The Rice Thresher goes to press was
meant to keep student dialogue
about the incident to a minimum.
'"The issue here is free speech,'' he
said. '"The actions and timing of the
university administration make it
clear that the goal was to stifle the
voice of the students."
After Clements' remarks, So
asked Camacho who he was respon-
sible to in making this decision.
Camacho replied that he was an-
swering to all students. "I am trying
to answer to the broad student popu-
lation to the best of my ability," he
said.
Wiess College junior Patrick
(ilauthier, a DJ, said he believed
that, throughout the course of the
negotiations, the administration had
not respected the students.
"You have gone behind our backs,
you have not told us what's happen-
ing, you have misled us," he said. "1
don't believe there has ever been a
dialogue.... And if anyone is respon-
sible for the dialogue not continu-
ing, it is certainly not K TRU."
Glauthier continued, saying the
university administration viewed
KTRU merely as a monetary asset.
"When you look at KTRU ... you see
a room widi a booth connected to a
big giant tower," he said.
(ilauthier added that he believed
the actions of Camacho were deplor-
able. "1 think you've disgraced the
university, you've disgraced your
office, you've blatantly disregarded
the opinion of the people who pay
your salary, whom you're supposed
to represent," he said.
Camacho responded to
Glauthier's remarks by saying that
he believes a more clearly defined
relationship between KTRU and the
university will benefit the entire stu-
dent body.
"By making it clear exactly where
we all stand, then all of this wasted
energy can be focused on making
KTRU better," he said.
Camacho also said his vision is to
move the KTRU office to the first
floor of the Student Center to give
the station a larger and more promi-
nent space on campus.
Wiess junior Ben Home, one of
the KTRU DJ directors, asked
Camacho, "Why do you want to make
it better? Why can't we make it bet-
ter?"
Camacho said that was his goal.
'"That's the direction we're talking
about: How can 1 help you make it
better?" he said.
Wiess senior Lizzie Taishoff, a
DJ, said she felt the university was
not trying to negotiate with KTRU
but instead was punishing the staff.
"It's not some sort of way of saying,
'Okay, we all need to come to the
table ... so that there is a compro-
mise and we can continue,"' she said.
"It seems to me that KTRU is
being punished for not adhering to
what the university said we need to
be doing for sports broadcasting. It
was so petty and punitive, it was a
slap in the face. Give me K TRU back.
I didn't do anything to get it taken
away.... All I've had shown to me is
how little my voice really matters."
Camacho said silencing student
voices was not the intent of his deci-
sion. "It was not intended to hurt any
of you," he said. "1 never saw this as
a punitive action."
Will Rice sophomore Steve Movit
asked why the KTRU bumper stick-
ers, which had covered the door to
the KTRU office, had been removed.
When Camacho said he did not
know this had happened,
Hutchinson said it was his decision
to remove the stickers. Hutchinson
said he had the stickers removed so
that students who went to the office
for their shifts would know that
KTRU had been taken off the air.
That way, Hutchinson said, the DJs
would not attempt to enter the sta-
tion office. The combination to the
lock on the office door was also
changed, and a sign on the door said
it was a violation of the Code of
Student Conduct to enter the office.
Jones College senior Kristin Nec-
essary asked Camacho what would
be required for the student body to
win the argument with the adminis-
tration. Camacho responded,"! don't
see that we're that much apart."
Rosa Guerrero, a staff assistant
in the Admission Office, spoke in
the meeting and said the university
had not acted respectably.
"You better turn the station on or
the community's going to turn it up
on y'all," Guerrero said. "I can tell
you, as a community member and as
someone who works here, I under-
stand very well the meaning of'be-
yond the hedges' and 'world-class
university.' That is not being dem-
onstrated here. I'm quite ashamed
to see the level of conversation that
you are having with these students."
Many members of the audience
cheered when Guerrero told the stu-
dents, "You guys are being had."
Will Rice junior Alex Hemsath
was the sole audience member to
speak against KTRU. "Not every stu-
dent at Rice likes KTRU," Hemsath
said. "KTRU cannot hide behind the
concept of free speech because
KTRU itself does not allow its DJs to
play whatever they want. KTRU has
playlists, KTRU has the rule that
you are only allowed to play what is
in the station."
Student Association President
Lindsay Botsford said the SA could
not fully support KTRU's position
because, unlike other blanket tax
organizations, KTRU does not have
an elected leader. However, she said
the SA has been working to revise
their constitution so that a situation
like this one will not arise again.
'"The problem we ran into over
the past few months is that K'l kU
did not have an elected leader that
officially represents all the students,"
Botsford, a Wiess junior, said.
The meeting was forced to a close
before 7 p.m. because a class was
scheduled in the room, but mem-
bers of the audience urged Camacho
to move the discussion to another
venue. Camacho said he could not
continue the discussion because he
had obligations but said he would
like to continue the discussion at
another time.
So said he was disappointed that
Camacho did not answer many ques-
tions that were raised. "I'm disap-
pointed that Dr. Camacho adroitly
dodged our questions and essen-
tially said, 'I don't know anything,'"
he said. "I hate the way he answered
the questions because he essentially
didn't. He referred back to his piece
of paper, or sidestepped the ques-
tion. or just nodded his head and
smiled and picked someone else to
speak to. ... He was so slippery."
Home said he was encouraged
by the wide range of opinions voiced
at the meeting. "KTRU and non-
KTRU students who were voicing
opinions here — community mem-
bers, everyone who was voicing
strong opinions, that encouraged
me," Home said. "I'm very discour-
aged that the administration doesn't
listen to those voices."
There will be a student forum
Sunday at 8 p.m. to further discuss
the future of KTRU. The location of
the forum had not been announced
at press time.
EXTRA
We are doing our best to keep
you updated on the evolving
situation with the shutdown of
KTRU. The news broke yesteday
morning, after we'd gone to
press with the regular issue.
The letter sized extra printed
Thursday afternoon was a pre-
liminary report of what we knew
at the time. This is simply a
report on last night's meeting.
A longer and more complete
extra edition of the Thresher on
this topic will be available this
afternoon.