The A.S. Council’s summer plans include re-examining its services via a student survey and researching both a possible broadcast tower for KSDT radio and an on-campus media center to serve student publications.
Vice President of Finances and Resources Peter Benesch said it’s unlikely the council will alter its current budget for any particular service, but will use the student responses to assess the scale and necessity of any eventual changes.
‘It’s good to evaluate and see what we’re doing and if we could do it better,’ Benesch said.
Apart from the survey, the council will consider investing in a broadcasting tower for KSDT, which currently can only be streamed from the Internet. Benesch said increased funding could help KSDT apply for and construct a radio tower, though no definite plans will be laid out until he speaks with next year’s station managers.
KSDT Music Director Marcus Rosario said he first considered applying for a tower after registering KSDT with the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System in 2007. He said KSDT needs approval from the UC Board of Regents before establishing a broadcasting frequency, along with acceptance from the Federal Communications Commission and approximately $15,000 to construct the tower itself, requiring an over-18-month process.
KSDT has received over $8,600 from the A.S. Council as a result of the A.S. fee referendum this year, in addition to its annual budget of $2,500, according to General Manager Ivan Dominguez.
Rosario said KSDT will appoint a student to spearhead the application process next year.
‘There’s so much more to radio than just music,’ Rosario said. ‘There are things like reaching out to communication majors and the whole communication department and student organizations.’
The council will also examine the possibility of creating a media room in Student Center or Price Center. The media center would provide workspace and technological resources to print organizations like the Koala and California Review, and broadcast networks such as KSDT and Student-Run Television.
SRTV General Manager Ali Hadian said a media center would be a great help because poor conditions in the organization’s current Student Center space ‘mdash; including a poor ventilation system ‘mdash; make filming difficult.
The survey will assess student interest in A.S. services ‘mdash; programs that the council finds beneficial to the student body ‘shy;’mdash; including A.S. Safe Ride, the holiday airport shuttle and the A.S. Graphic Studio.
Benesch said Safe Ride is likley to see the most changes, as councilmembers claim the service became too slow after it switched providers from Cloud 9 Shuttles to Express Shuttles in fall 2008.
‘We renegotiated contracts last year to try to save some money, and that was great because we do want to make things more efficient,’ Benesch said. ‘But unfortunately, it seemed like there was a big difference in the service [Express Shuttles] provided. We want to look back and see if [these concerns are] the general sentiment and, if [they are], try to see what we can do.’
He said it is unlikely the service will immediately change its provider or alter its hours of operation ‘mdash; currently Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Additionally, its annual budget of $27,000 will remain the same.
Benesch said the council will evaluate student opinion about the holiday airport shuttle to see if there is demand for later hours. The survey will address more general student opinions about the A.S. Graphic Studio, because it is a relatively new service.
Readers can contact Henry Becker at [email protected].