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WCAL and CVN may soon lose their status as student-run organizations.

But not if their current general managers have their way.

A recent proposal by the CAS department, currently awaiting approval by the Educational Policy Committee, suggests that WCAL, the student radio station and CVN, the student television station, be run using the model of the Calvin Theatre Company.

Under the CTC model, students who want to be involved in WCAL or CVN would be required to enroll in a one-credit hour class each semester. A professional would then coordinate all activities and have final control over all decisions. This professor would also coordinate weekly seminars similar to those presently conducted by the CTC.

photo by Swanson Randy Bytwerk outlined problems with inconsistency of quality in WCAL and CVN and said that increased quality would lead to increased student interest.

Randy Bytwerk, chair of the CAS department, explained why a move to the CTC model for CVN and WCAL would be a good idea: “Over the years there has been a real problem in consistency of quality in WCAL and CVN. We thought we could do a lot to improve the quality.”

Bytwerk explained that, while this year “CVN is doing a better than average job,” this has not always been the case. The idea of running CVN and WCAL under the CTC model, which would mean hiring a professor to be in charge of the two organizations, “doesn’t mean a kind of dictatorship but it means an overall level of quality control.”

But some oppose the move toward a CTC model.

James Hemsley, the current general manager of CVN, expressed his discontent with the proposal. “The way that they’re going about it is not beneficial to students,” he said.

He then explained some of his chief concerns. “Many current CVN folk are not CAS majors. Under the CTC model, you have to sign up at the beginning of the year and not later. These guys are actually trying to do something good, but I think that the way they proposed it needs to be revised.”

Hemsley added that the current CAS department is short on the ‘Science’ part of the title ‘Communications, Arts and Sciences.’ He stated that students could use more technical training and equipment. “Right now we’re about ten years behind the industry standard with our equipment,” he said.

Phil Blonn, current general manager of WCAL, agreed that “it’s a good development that the CAS department is looking to have more involvement with student media.” However, he too opposed the current CAS proposal. “We want to maintain our independence,” he said.

A better proposal, said both Blonn and Hemsley, would be a hybrid between the current student-run model and a CTC model. “I favour one that would keep WCAL as a student organization but incorporate a course that CAS teaches in with the regular operation of the station,” said Blonn.

Both general managers also gave their thoughts on the current quality of their respective organizations. Hemsley explained that over the course of the past month, viewership of CVN has jumped to the point where the station is now playing 20 hours of programming per day and call-in shows receive tremendous response. “I don’t think the CAS department knows how popular we are.”

Similarly, Blonn noted the results of a recent survey where less than 15 percent of 479 respondents suggested having more news on the radio – something which the CAS department would like to see more of in order to improve quality.

Stephen Swanson, who is slated to be the general manager of WCAL next year, took a different approach. “I would be more comfortable personally with being more integrated with an academic course,” he said.

“We want to maintain our independence,” said Blonn.

While he voiced his “support of autonomy” he added, “I’m in support of gaining assistance from professionals of some sort. We definitely need someone who knows what quality is and how to get it.”

In response, Bytwerk argued, “If these student models had run effectively, our reaction would have been ‘Hallelujah!’”

“Clearly, there will be some loss of student independence,” he said. “The question is, is that a bad thing? We’re certainly likely to make these things of interest to the student. The overall quality would be better. At Calvin, if we do things, we believe in doing them well.” Bytwerk also emphasized that “we do not mean this only for majors.”

Other student leaders called into question the goals of the CAS department. “They never took into consideration how this is going to affect media on campus or how things run – they just considered financial and staff considerations,” argued Chimes editor in chief Sarah Potter.

“The process whereby this has happened worries me,” echoed Student Senate President Jeremy Konyndyk.

Potter’s solution to the problem responded to concerns raised by Blonn and Konyndyk about communication difficulties in the proposal process. According to Potter, “It would make me happy if it was discussed how CVN and WCAL, being taken out of the hands of students and made into an academic discipline, would affect the flow of media on this campus, which, as far as I know, has only been done by the Student Life Committee.”

Further problems have been aroused over the issue of the professor to be hired.

When first looking at who to hire, the CAS department decided that they did not need enough help to justify a full-time employee, and that the A-V department was in a similar situation. According to Bytwerk, “This was a way of meeting goals. Also, it makes sense because the campus media outlets do work with A-V.” Hiring for this professor is being done by Henry De Vries, vice president for information technology, since A-V is under Information Technology.

The criteria for the professor are considered by some to be outrageous – he or she must be a professional in the areas of radio, television and audio-visual areas. However, said Bytwerk, Calvin seems to have a history of finding uniquely talented individuals.

Others worried about rumors circulating that the search process had already begun, even though the proposal has not yet been approved by the EPC. De Vries, however, denied these allegations. “The job has not been described or approved or posted yet.”

In any case, students and faculty will most likely have another year to work toward a final consensus on the issue. The proposal must still be passed by the EPC, after which it will go to Faculty Senate. According to Bytwerk, “It could conceivably be referred to Student Life, but would not necessarily go there.”

Another difficulty is that the CAS department has already completed its professor assignments for the coming year and, according to Bytwerk, it would be “tough” to implement the changes in the coming fall semester.