23
Aug
2010
From Alum Steve Phillips
I am an alumnus of Rice and as a former KTRU staff member. I graduated from Rice in 1987 with two degrees, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Mathematical Science.
During my time at Rice I served as a DJ at KTRU and I assisted with the maintenance of the station. I knew many people who devoted uncounted hours of voluntary service to KTRU. KTRU served as a nexus for those within the Rice community who wanted to reach out to others and to connect to the community “beyond the hedges”. Contact between staffers at KTRU, KUHT, and KPFT was common. Quality programming and service to the larger Houston community were important to all of us, but the joy of connecting to people, especially the positive feedback from the community, was what made most of us continue.
The decision to sell KTRU’s spectrum rights, along with the transmitter and the KTRU’s rights to use the tower, is ill considered. It is insenstive to the thousands of volunteers who devoted uncounted hours to the station. It is, frankly, offensive, and feels like a decision that could only have been made by an outsider – by someone who does not value the things that make Rice the rich, diverse community that it so clearly is.
KTRU is more than an economic asset. It is a part of Rice.
Steve Phillips, ’87
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