Program changes frustrating

The shift in administration at the WEMC radio station has resulted in some program changes. My qualifications for addressing this subject are the following: I am a student of Eastern Mennonite University; I have an active interest in the world around me; most importantly, the WEMC radio station is a large part of my daily routine.

Waking up to WEMC’s early morning broadcast of BBC and drinking my first cup of coffee to the broadcasting of Democracy Now was, for many months, a fundamental part of waking up to another day in Harrisonburg. I am frustrated by the changes in the programming and am even more concerned by the process in which it has been done.

Two of the most major changes in broadcasting are the following: Democracy Now, an alternative news program, has been cut from the morning broadcast of WEMC. In addition, BBC’s Europe Today program has been cut from the mid-day broadcast.

From the limited surveying I have done, I am sad to say that it seems as though few students are aware that EMU has a radio station on campus; despite the fact that our precious dollars contribute to it. Not only is it tragic that students are not listening to the good programs that are played on WEMC, it is even sadder to realize that our radio station has very little student involvement and is not geared toward EMU students.

WEMC broadcasts classical music the majority of the day. Though classical music is a beautiful reflection of human creativity, WMRA, the local NPR station, plays classical music during many of the same hours. In addition, NPR puts much more intellectual effort into picking and talking about the classical music that they play.

I feel as though the increase in classical music played on WEMC is a reflection of the fact that WEMC is unconcerned about the listening desires of the student body. Why are there no student initiated programs? Why is there no "modern music" played on WEMC? If, for example, there was a Friday night program run by students for students, I believe it would be widely listened to.

Though BBC news reports continue to be aired during the day and Democracy Now is played in the late afternoon, the limiting of these important news sources seems contrary to the moral sentiments of the EMU community. With the increase of conglomeration in American media sources, BBC and Democracy Now are important alternative news sources. The EMU community professes a desire to play an active and positive role in the world. Accurate media, something hard to come by in these sad days, is an integral part to this. Thus, it is difficult to understand why WEMC, our radio station, would limit the media aspect of their broadcasting.

Though I am criticizing WEMC in this article, I remain an avid listener. I encourage the EMU student body to listen to WEMC. Since this is a radio station of EMU, I would love to see the student body participate in the programming. Perhaps even run a couple of shows. However, this depends largely on the students’ willingness to get involved.