When CKLN moved out of the SCC, many of us at the Eyeopener did a silent cheer. It’s not that we have a vendetta against community radio, it’s that we were glad to be done with the shitshow that CKLN became.
Never have we faced more failed lawsuits or libelous online comments than when it came to stories to do with CKLN.
So when a group of students decided to take up the cause and campaign to revive radio on campus, I couldn’t help but cringe. Not this again, I thought. And I suspect I’m not the only one who had the same reaction.
But what I’ve concluded, and what you should to, is that New Ryerson Radio is not CKLN’s evil spawn.
If New Ryerson Radio is run as campaigned, students will actually be at the helm. Rather than what turned into a largely inaccessible clusterfuck of “community” radio, this station will actually have student programming run by students. A novel concept for a station based on campus, I know.
Plus let’s consider that Ryerson has both a journalism and radio and television arts program with no frequency to broadcast on. SPIRITlive has been a force in online radio and shouldn’t be discounted here, but unless you’re in RTA you’re going to face some roadblocks to getting in front of a mic.
As for the $10.35 levy, I hope you all know that you’ve been paying it since you started at Ryerson and it’s all been going to a station that couldn’t even hold onto its license. Now that money is sitting in a fund, untouched. Think you’ll ever get that back?
If we decided CKLN was worth $10.35 per year, then New Ryerson Radio should be a shoe-in.
Campus radio has been a staple of the university experience that Ryerson students have been shafted on for years. This is your chance to make it happen.
The biggest obstacle to seeing this through isn’t the desire of the student body, it’s your willingness to take a few minutes to vote. Unless a minimum number of students vote, this referendum will be another exercise in apathy and your funds will remain locked up in pergatory.
I can’t vote. Despite spending most of my waking hours on campus, I graduated and don’t have that option. But you do.
Vote yes on New Ryerson Radio. You literally have nothing to lose.
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