Entries this day: Dream1 Dream2 PressRelease WhatHappened _!!KTRU!! beforeMeeting nothing

Dream1

7:14am CST Thursday 30 November 2000

As I was writing my most recent dream, I remembered my 4am dream.

(dream)

I was at my Aunt Mercedes house, and I flushed the toilet, which overflowed and got poop on the carpet and floor. I was all embarassed, but Aunt Mercedes was quite supportive in helping me get over it: "oh, it does that all the time. Don't worry about it!"

She and my cousin Bridgette cleaned it up even though I was quite willing to do so (and standing right there). Mercedes picked up the white rug and placed it on an old iron pot-bellied stove to dry. The rug got singed, making the matter worse in my mind, but she said again that I shouldn't worry about it.

We were in an small-ish room that was somewhat dark- like an attic or garage.

(note: Aunt Mercedes died over a year ago or maybe two.)

permalink

Dream2

6:55am CST Thursday 30 November 2000

(dream)

My friend Mike was talking on the radio to Sam Malone, a popular DJ in Houston. Mike was on a roll about something and was saying some pretty funny stuff. Then he had to go or Sam had to move on to something else so Mike was supposed to hang on or call back. Mike didn't call back in time, so he called back like 20 minutes later, when they had already moved on past that topic. So Sam was all, "call back at 7:10, and I'l make you my last call."

I wanted to get in on the action, so I called Sam to see if I could call at 7:10 as well . My conversation with Sam was funny at first, but then when I actually told him I wanted to talk at the same time as Mike, I was all, "you know mike, who was talking about that thing a while go." I got no response from Sam. (quite an unusual occurrence). So I kept talking myself. "So anyway, why do they pay you? To make people happy, and I know you can't make people happy all the time, but you're totally leaving me hanging here, and that's okay. I wish you a great day anyway. See ya!"

I started closing up the beach house where we were staying; actually it was my dad's house, but two stories tall. The room we were in was all old and dilapidated, but still functional.

permalink

PressRelease

for immediate release

At 8:00am CST on Nov. 30, student-controlled programming at KTRU 91.7fm
in Houston was abruptly brought to an end by the administration of Rice
University. This was done in response to a protest by student djs of
increased athletics broadcasting on KTRU. The incident in question was
the broadcasting of music over the second half of Nov. 28th's basketball
game.

While not all djs agree with this course of action, it is clear that
the majority believe that Rice athletics has no place on KTRU.

KTRU has been controlled and run by the students of Rice University
since its inception over 30 years ago. However, the consolidation of the
radio market has increasingly left Rice athletics with fewer broadcast
options.

Over the past few years, the student management of KTRU has grudgingly
ceded air time to Rice athletics in the hopes of reaching an acceptable
compromise. Unfortunately, in the last few months the athletics department
has proceeded to continue to push for more air time with the backing of
the Rice administration.

KTRU holds an educational license from the FCC, and the students of KTRU
take that concept very seriously, believing we have a role in the education
of the audience as well as ourselves. We play a diverse assortment of
music, focusing on underexposed genres and artists. We fail to see the
educational value of broadcasting mainstream athletic events. In addition,
the proposed increase in athletics programming is essentially being
mandated by the administration of Rice University, with little to no
regard for the traditions or opinions of KTRU.


Dennis Lee
Operations Manager
Hip-Hop Director
KTRU 91.7fm
hiphop@ktru.org
dlee@rice.edu

For more information on the history of KTRU:
http://www.rice.edu/projects/thresher/issues/88/00.10.27/curr
ent/feature/index.html

To express your concern, send comments to:
KTRU 91.7fm
Rice University
6100 S. Main St.
Houston, TX 77005

or

Dr. Zenaido Camacho (Vice president for student affairs)
Rice University, MS-6
6100 S. Main St.
Houston, TX 77005
vpsa@rice.edu

permalink

WhatHappened

Thu, 30 Nov 2000 15:41:09 -0600

   From: Kristin
  Subject:
       what happened in the station this morning


this morning i went to my 7-9 shift, excessively
tired, but dragging
myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 6:45 because
i was excited 
like i
usually am about going to my ktru shift.  the shift
was fine for the 
first
hour.  i remember at exactly 7:57, i got on the air
and announced, this 
is
91.7 fm ktru Houston, and i'll be here for another
hour and three
minutes: how could i have known how wrong I would be. 
I was there for
exactly three more minutes because in the middle of a
miles davis 
request
the station suddenly turned to static.  i sat there
completely stumped.  
i
thought perhaps he had gone into more experimental
stuff, or maybe i 
had
broken the entire station.  I came to the conclusion
after about a 
minute
or two that i had somehow broken ktru, and i reached
to pull down the
yellow instructional book in search of what the heck
you do if you 
break
the station.  At the moment i was reaching for the
book, i see none 
other
than Hutch and Camacho both well dressed, and alert
for 8 am headed my
way.  I thought perhaps i was in huge trouble with the
university for
breaking the staion, but in the back of my mind i
knew, this was it, i 
had
heard all the things about the university taking over
the station but
somehow this was real, here live in person they were
going to 
physically
come take the station.  Mind you, i am just this kid
sitting there 
behind
the dials, staring up bewildered at them.  It somehow
must have seemed
necessary to send both of them, in case perhaps they
needed to use 
force
to remove me from the station.  When they entered they
didn't say
anything. I looked at them bewildered, wondering why
they knew the 
code,
wondering what was happening, i muttered something
about i didn't know
what i had done.  this is  when they told me that it
wasn't me, it was
them first i felt relief, then confusion, then anger. 
how could they 
do
this, this was my shift. the phone kept ringing and
ringing but i 
couldn't
answer it, they told me not to answer it, i didn't
have enough
information, mind you i was given no information
whatever.  i felt 
really
powerless at this moment.  i asked them if i could put
back the music 
and
like the kind gentlemen they are, they allowed me to
return the cds to
their proper places, before escorting me out of the
station. so many
things flew through my head.  i remember saying that i
didnt' really 
know
what was going on with the whole administration, ktru
thing, that i was 
so
confused, hutch said something to the effect of "i
know, you just want 
to
play music".

 and i did but i couldn't

so sadly i left ktru not knowing the implications, the
gravity of the
situation, so that's what happened from inside the
walls of ktru at 8 
am
this morning

kristin

!!KTRU!!

Date:
        Thu, 30 Nov 2000 10:12:22 -0600
   From: Lizzie
  Subject:
        too late.


the door code has been changed and the stickers have all been removed 
from the outside door.  it's over.  and we've lost.


i'm up at the station now and it's not a pretty picture. either we do
something now or not at all, but if we do anything it must be 
coordinated
and immediate.

9:58am 30 November 2000

ACTION ALERT

O.K.  It's time to take action, everybody.  Here's Camacho's contact 
info.

name: Camacho, Dr Zenaido
mailstop: Student Affairs MS6
office: 101 Lovett Hall
phone: 713-348-4996
email: vpsa@rice.edu

As many people as possible should email or phone Camacho's office, 
now!...
express your opinion about this indefinite suspension of KTRU!

9:30am 30 November 2000

Date:     Thu, 30 Nov 2000 08:05:20 -0600
Subject:  From Dr. Camacho

Dear KTRU volunteers:

As I am sure you are aware, students on duty Tuesday
evening deliberately disrupted the KTRU broadcast of
the Rice University women's basketball game.  This
demonstrated a lack of respect for fellow students
on the basketball team, for a Rice student activity
and for the listeners.  It demonstrated a lack of
responsibility in the use of university-owned broadcast 
facilities.  And  it deliberately subverted programming 
approved by the responsible  university parties,
including the KTRU advisory committee and the Vice
President for Student Affairs, to whom authority to
determine policy is delegated by the President and the
Board of  Trustees, the owners of the FCC license.

As a consequence, the university is reorganizing the
operation of KTRU. During this reorganization,
operation by the current volunteers is suspended 
from 8 a.m., Thursday, November 30 until further
notice.

Dr. Hutchinson and I have accepted an invitation from
Johnny to attend a meeting of the KTRU volunteers at 
6 p.m. this evening.  The decision to reorganize the
operation of the station is final.  The discussion at
this point should be about the opportunities for 
tudent participation in the reorganized KTRU.  We
remain committed to the concept of a university-owned,
student-operated radio station with appropriate lines
of accountability.

Sincerely,
Zenaido Camacho
Vice President for Student Affairs

Wow, I say. Wow. Interesting that I had already mentioned that I might not apply again for the winter shift. Then this morning I decided I would apply. Now I see this. I'll still apply, just in case I get to DJ more.

permalink

beforeMeeting

5:30pm Thursday 30 November 2000

There's been about 150 emails today between DJs about the administration and all that. I'm leaving now to attend the meeting at 6pm. I think I'll wear shoes and *maybe* park my car off campus.

Karla encouraged me to not do anything that will get me arrested. I intend not to be arrested. I'm just going to watch and voice my opinion if appropriate.

A lot of people are Pissed Off, mostly DJs from the emails, but who knows. I am certain media will be there, given what people have emailed today. Awright ... see ya, and I'll let you know what happens.

permalink

nothing

10:10pm CST Thursday 30 November 2000

The KTRU meeting essentially answered zero questions, but it gave us attention from the media. I will probably be on RBT (Rice Broadcast Television) and quoted in The Thresher (Rice newspaper). But better than that, Fox local news cameras and ABC local news and a couple other cameras were on scene at the meeting, while I furious wrote notes into my Visor.

Camacho said nothing of value and spoke like a slippery eel avoiding questions. I was anti-impressed, yet pleased that the situation got so much attention.

I saw the news report on Fox at 9:30pm or so. It was mostly in favor of the students.

- - -

After the meeting, outside and talking to people, I saw a familiar face. "Who is that?" I asked Mondro. "That's Phillip Gayle."

"Oh yeah!" I had met him while Alexis interviewed him on KTRU about a year ago. Cool!! We talked a bit and then saw each other near Val Halla (sp), a pub-thing on campus and he bought us each a Dr Pepper. We talked a bit and then talked outside to some other concerned students and a local musician who said he would leave Houston if KTRU went off the air. Phillip had actually said the same thing.

Afterward, Phillip drove me to my car, which was not too far off campus, just in case non-students were forcibly removed from the meeting.

permalink