The March 3 “Koala TV” broadcast by A.S. Elections Manager and Koala Editor Steve York was cut from the air following the A.S. Council’s and campus administrators’ condemnation of the show’s “indecent” material.
Canceled:
Student-Run Television had informed York that indecent material would not be tolerated on-air 45 minutes before the broadcast was to be shown. After York began to take off his clothes on camera, SRTV Programming Manager Patrick Reynolds pulled the plug on the show, York said.
“I personally didn’t feel that any ample warning was made,” he said.
The fate of the show is still uncertain, according to York.
Resolved:
SRTV Station Manager Chelsea Welch did not return requests for comment.
The station’s decision to pull the episode occurred a day after the A.S. Council approved a resolution that, among other things, denounced a February episode of “Koala TV” featuring York engaging in sexual acts with an unidentified woman.
“[The] broadcast was disgusting and stepped completely beyond the bounds of what might reasonably have been considered political or artistic speech and way over into something that I can say with certainty most students would not want to see,” A.S. Commissioner of Student Services Kian Maleki stated in an e-mail.
The unanimous council resolution followed a campus investigation concluding that, while York’s broadcast was not in violation of Federal Communications Commission guidelines, it did breach the SRTV charter, according to University Communications Director Dolores Davies.
“The finding was that FCC regulations do not apply to SRTV, because it is a closed-circuit station,” Davies said. “The administration feels that the underlying agreement and understanding is that the purpose of SRTV is to enrich the university experience, which we don’t believe [the show] did. What we would really like to see is A.S. to take this seriously and review the charter and perhaps make it clearer.”
The resolution also expressed the council’s intent to amend SRTV regulations to clarify obscenity guidelines. Some A.S. senators said they felt they needed to act before harsher measures were taken against SRTV.
“The student, administrative and public response was such that we had to do something,” Revelle College Senior Senator Ted McCombs stated in an e-mail. “I believe there was a significant danger of the administration stepping in, and I think we did the responsible thing and kept that from happening.”
University administrators said they were satisfied with the resolution, praising A.S. Council of taking responsibility for SRTV content.
“I’m very pleased that A.S. has taken the leadership role,” Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life Carmen Vazquez said. “Given their responsibility, it’s highly appropriate that our student leadership take the responsibility for determining parameters for programming.”
SRTV is funded by Associated Students through self-assessed student activity fees. York’s “Koala TV” is an offshoot of the campus publication the Koala, which has printed controversial sexual and racial humor in the past. On March 4, around 100 students, faculty and staff organized a speak-out against the publication.
At the A.S. meeting, York spoke during a public-input session and promised to contest the resolution “with all available resources at my disposal.” He also defended “Koala TV” and said the council lacked the legal knowledge needed to make decisions on free speech rights, which he contends allow for such a broadcast.
Welch spoke on behalf of SRTV, citing legal precedents that did not allow governing bodies to regulate indecent material. However, councilmembers avoided legal matters by proposing amendments that they said would keep their decision simpler.
The wording of one amendment was changed to clarify that while York’s show was inappropriate, whether it contained obscene content was left to individual interpretation. Obscene material is prohibited by law, while indecent broadcasts are allowed on the station as long as they are uncopyrighted and between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“I think the amendments proposed were necessary so that this discussion didn’t devolve into a frantic constitutional law case study,” McCombs stated. “There were a lot of court cases cited on either side, and it was beginning to spiral into a First Amendment debate. … The amendments postponed that legal debate to another time, and in the meantime passed a statement of good-faith cooperation with SRTV that I feel is essential to resolving this question in a civil and legal manner.”
SRTV and A.S. officials said they hope to revise all needed SRTV rules and regulations, as well as establish a formal grievance procedure for students by May 25, according to Maleki.
“A select number of members of A.S. will meet with the directors and station managers of SRTV to address their concerns and our own, and a new version of the charter will be written to satisfy them,” Maleki stated. “The grievance procedure is something that we will be establishing for everything offered to students by A.S. The exact operation of the system hasn’t been worked out quite yet, but will be by the deadline set in the resolution.”
In regards to the future of “Koala TV,” the Associated Students will allow airings provided there is no nudity or sex, according to Maleki. However, the final decision on whether to air the show is up to SRTV, he said.
Meanwhile, York said he is seeking other outlets to publicize his show.
“To some degree, we’re not too worried of SRTV because our Web site will host further segments, and we’re looking into other ways to show it,” York said. “While the future of ‘Koala TV’ on SRTV may be in jeopardy, the future of porn at UCSD is certainly not.”
