On any given Tuesday afternoon, students might recognize the faint sound of a saxophone or a guitar as they rush through Student Center on their way home. That evening, as they’re settled in their residence hall’s common room, they will mindlessly channel-surf, unknowingly tearing past the broadcasting of the jam they heard earlier that day. All the while, these students are only vaguely registering that channel 18, UCSD’s Student-Run Television, is not airing their favorite sitcom, but some sort of musical show.
But looking deeper into the friendly chatter and creative sounds coming from the heart of Student Center at the SRTV station office, amid the jungle of black wires – which seem to grow, with the help of silver duct tape, from the walls, ceiling and floor of the cramped but cozy broadcasting room – reveals a lengthy and turbulent history.
In February 2005, former Koala Editor in Chief and John Muir College alumnus Steve York broadcast the first in a series of segments featuring him and an adult-film actress performing sexual acts during his SRTV show, “”Koala TV.”” In the resulting uproar from both administrators and student leaders, A.S. councilmembers were pressured to regulate the supposedly inappropriate content. After a dramatic debate addressing students’ rights to freedom of speech and administrative concerns about vulgar content on A.S.-funded media, the council passed bills banning all pornographic images, the broadcasting of “”Koala TV”” on SRTV and York from the station’s premises.
Soon after, on Nov. 3, 2005, the council pulled the plug on SRTV after station programmers aired an unscheduled program that included an interview with York aired.
Sixth College freshman Kurt Wang aims a camcorder at a studio performance. Wang hosts a new show called “”Mahjong with Kurto Wango”” which teaches viewers the traditional Chinese game Mahjong.
Following the Nov. 3 shutdown, then-acting Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life Gary R. Ratcliff refused a Nov. 7 request from then-A.S. President Christopher Sweeten to reactivate the station’s signal. Ratcliff said he was not confident in the A.S. Council’s ability to uphold the station’s rules, citing a conflict between SRTV employees and councilmembers outside the station after the shutdown.
“”I couldn’t, in good conscience, let the station come back on air because I, [along] with many other people, were concerned about the station after that incident,”” Ratcliff said.
Looking back on the controversy and eventual shutdown of the station, 2005 Thurgood Marshall College alumnus and former SRTV member Jared Lindo explained the general student reaction to the administration’s actions.
“”I think most students had a sense that the administration should have as little control as possible over student media and that they were just old and out of touch,”” Lindo said in an e-mail. “”There was also a sense of, ‘What’s the big deal?’ from the students. Nearly 100 percent of UCSD students were legally adults and many were sexually active. Is some guy having sex … on TV really going to corrupt the moral fiber of UCSD?””
Students voted to reject both the prohibition of sexual content and York’s exile in a January 2006 special election, but administrators again refused to return the station to air. But because the university owns the Triton Cable network that transmits SRTV programming, administrators argued it had the right to keep the shutdown in effect.
“”I believe that we should make clear to the A.S. and the campus that the administration will not permit the transmission of pornography over its broadcast channels, and that we should do so earlier rather than later,”” Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson said to Ratcliff in a Nov. 15, 2005 e-mail obtained by the Guardian through a California Public Records Act request.
Sixth College senior and SRTV Managing Director Mike Toillion agreed that the decision to completely shut down the station hurt the campus’s forum for free speech.
“”What I was shocked about was [that] the administration and A.S. had no problem censoring freedom of speech, and to me that hurts the campus,”” Toillion said. “”I don’t want to be seen as a student who belongs to a campus that doesn’t hold the First Amendment to a high standard.””
As a condition for reactivating SRTV’s signal, Ratcliff and Watson demanded that the station’s charter be amended to ban “”graphic depictions of sexual nudity”” and institute a program review board that would evaluate content proposals before shows were allowed to air. When the A.S. Council failed to include those restrictions in the newly amended station charter, the university created its own “”acceptable use policy”” barring such content, which went into effect in October 2006.
Student leaders, including then-A.S. President Harry Khanna, deplored the unprecedented level of university control provided by the AUP.
“”It’s obvious, especially with their decision to regulate profanity, that administrators are insistent on treating campus departments like little kids,”” Khanna told the Guardian in October.
Although SRTV only began releasing new content during spring quarter, Ratcliff turned the signal back on last June but restricted its airtime to the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., since the SRTV charter already prevented indecent material from airing during that period.
The staff has experienced several setbacks due to a lack of experienced members, limited communication with the A.S. Council and administrators, blocked access to its Web site and insufficient equipment.
According to Toillion, the A.S. Council and administrators caused massive damage. The station’s cable feed was severed and its Web site hijacked, he said. Members spent time speaking at A.S. meetings and collecting thousands of signatures in support of free speech. Still, Toillion said he feels like nothing has improved. The station still has no Web site and suffers from low membership and a reduced annual budget of $7,000, down from $10,000.
“”The end result of this experience was the realization that students are not respected or taken seriously on this campus,”” Toillion said.
SRTV has also suffered due to a lack of name recognition on campus.
“”Not many people watch [SRTV],”” Earl Warren College freshman and SRTV member Ali Hadian said. “”The station was pretty much defunct for most, if not all, of fall quarter, which is when new students begin to become acquainted with their television programming, so we missed the initial publicity rush.””
Despite the difficulties of reviving SRTV, Toillion has dedicated himself to revitalizing the station’s content and infrastructure. In addition to recruiting new members, ordering badly needed equipment and revamping technical aspects of the broadcasting system, Toillion went door to door seeking out student filmmakers and local animators to build up a library of content.
“”I just sort of stepped up [spring] quarter and said, ‘There’s really only hard work separating us from where we are now and where we could be,'”” Toillion said. “”So I just made a checklist of what we should do … and began implementing those things.””
Toillion has encouraged his staff to produce and air more live content. In addition to the periodically aired “”Sex Talk”” created by Jason Andrews, the variety show “”Elle Loves Elephants”” created by Elle Maglonzo and Mike Sowers and “”Mahjong with Kurto Wango”” created by Kurt Wang, Toillion started a weekly jam session dubbed “”Battle Arena Live,”” which features MC flow battles, guest musicians and an energetic band of students and SRTV acquaintances.
The weekly show has worked to provide members a chance to socialize and relax within the SRTV community, as well as draw talent from students and groups in San Diego. In one Tuesday edition, Revelle College sophomore Eddie Kim and Eleanor Roosevelt College freshman Anthony Elbancol spat insults at one another in front of a makeshift judging panel to battle for a $100 prize, San Diego-based hip-hop group Trifecta and one-man guitarist and vocalist J Downs exploded with energy-pumped performances and SRTV members, like Muir freshman Sam Doshier, jammed on their respective instruments.
“”My friend dragged me here one time,”” Doshier said, pausing to duct tape a wire to a random location on the ceiling of the broadcasting room (according to Doshier, “”Duct-tape solves fucking everything.””). “”And then I brought my saxophone, and then I just got really involved.””
Although “”Battle Arena Live”” has lured several members with its carefree environment and musical charm, Toillion would like to see more viewers and creative minds become part of the SRTV community.
“”We don’t have a lot of artists in our station – it’s mostly students with other majors,”” Toillion said. “”I think that’s really strange.””
Through the seemingly exhausting amount of responsibilities in the technical, administrative and creative realms of the station that Toillion has taken on, he has been dedicated to rebuilding a core resource for student expression.
“”Basically, as an undergrad, [SRTV] was why the school was cool to me,”” he said. “”It was an opportunity to make whatever you want. It was the best creative outlet possible … at a student-run TV network, you’re your only constraint. I know that if no one stepped up now, those creative opportunities would pretty much die.””
Judging from the fresh-faced staff that shows up each week, ready to tackle a new technical skill or share a budding idea, the station seems far from death.
“”The only thing limiting us now is resources,”” Toillion said. “”We have a lot of new energetic members … I’m really excited to see what happens in the next year or two. I think the shyness is gone and we’re back with a vengeance.””
