Several university administrators have rebuffed a request by A.S. President Christopher Sweeten and Commissioner of Student Services Maurice Junious to reactivate Student-Run Television, calling for more accountability on the part of the student government.
On Nov. 7, Junious said he expected the station to come back later that day, after Sweeten and he had requested the reactivation.
“It’s in the administration’s hands now,” Sweeten said after he filed his request.
The day after, the administration responded to Sweeten, rejecting his request to put SRTV back on the air.
“Please understand that the goal of the administration is to help the A.S. effectively manage an important student service, but we cannot, in good faith to our campus community, fulfill this request until there is a plan in place to ensure student safety, security for the facility, effective management and enforcement of the A.S. broadcast rules,” acting Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life Gary R. Ratcliff stated in an e-mail to Sweeten on Nov. 8.
Ratcliff, who consulted other administrators including Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Edward Spriggs on the topic, also told Sweeten he wanted “more confidence” in SRTV management before the signal was turned back on.
“A.S. will need to provide the specifics to evoke that confidence,” Ratcliff stated.
No specific standards were offered by Ratcliff, Sweeten said.
The station was shut off on Nov. 3 during Earl Warren College senior Daniel Watts’ “unscheduled” show featuring a political talk with John Muir College Senior Steve York. After the show was cut from the air, A.S. Vice President Finance Greg Murphy and Commissioner of Communications Soap Chum argued with SRTV staff members.
The signal came back on Nov. 4, but was again shut off later that day.
Administrators told Sweeten that a physical altercation between councilmembers and SRTV staff on Nov. 3 made the university legally liable, which gave them the right to keep the station offline, Sweeten said. In addition, administrators said that station members were engaging in illegal sexual activities inside the studio, Sweeten said.
The administration’s response to the reactivation request requires student unity on all sides, Sweeten said before a Nov. 8 SRTV staff meeting.
“If the entire campus, as students, gets on one platform, it’s going to get to administrators,” he said at the meeting. “They don’t want bad publicity. If we’re not together, shit’s going to fall apart quick.”
The longer SRTV is inoperable, the more problems administrators are making for themselves, said SRTV co-Manager Andrew Tess.
“If the administration is stalling for whatever reason, they’re going to be in more trouble than they already are,” Tess said. “They are not in a good position legally.”
Meanwhile, several A.S. senators said they are frustrated with the lack of communication they have received from council executives since the station’s shutdown.
Muir College Council Chair Neil Spears said he sent several e-mails to Sweeten over the weekend inquiring why SRTV had been disconnected. However, there was no concrete response from Sweeten, leaving Spears still questioning what exactly had happened to the station.
“I found out just from turning on SRTV over the weekend and seeing it was black,” Spears said. “I have no idea what is going on, and it’s very frustrating. We deserve the right to know why our service isn’t operating.”
Any response by Sweeten at this point, however, would still be too late, Spears said.
Although Junious offered to address senators’ concerns individually, an official response that could be sent to all councilmembers would be more efficient, according to Revelle College Senior Senator Rachel Corell.
“We all need to know the same information,” she said. “Thursday night happened, and nobody told the council anything about it. I found out through second-hand sources. People ask me what’s going on, and I can’t tell them because, honestly, I don’t know.”
Corell invited Junious, Sweeten, York and Watts to a Revelle College Council meeting to address questions and explain the events that led to the station’s shutdown. Only Watts and York attended.
Readers can contact Charles Nguyen at [email protected].
