Rally to Save KTRU a Huge Success
Protesters listen to speakers at Sunday's rally to save KTRU
Braving oppressive sun, heat, and humidity, hundreds of members of both the Rice University and greater Houston communities convened on Rice’s academic quadrangle today at 2pm for a rally to save KTRU.
Carrying homemade signs and wearing KTRU t-shirts, the crowd listened as a series of speakers, including current students, faculty, and alumni, spoke about why KTRU should be saved. Speakers shared personal anecdotes, including tales of how KTRU had benefited their own lives and careers. Some reflected on the importance of KTRU to the larger Houston community and independent media. Others focused on deconstructing arguments used by the university administration to justify KTRU’s sale.
Members of KTRU’s student board stressed that they will not back down in the fight for the radio station. Station Manager Kelsey Yule asserted that even if the station were to go off the air this week, the fight that began when the news was announced publicly last Monday was “just the beginning.”
An audio recording of the full rally will be posted here soon. Please check back!
A Rice mathematics professor speaks at the rally.
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Dear President Leebron,
I represent a small group of Rice alumni. We would like to offer you 9.5 million dollars for Willy’s statue. All we ask is that the statue’s base remain vacant on the quad for the next 43 years.
This is a serious offer. Apparently your administration needs money, so we would like to appeal to your lack of scruples and encourage you to sell that big hunk of under-utilized metal in the center of campus. Don’t worry, most students won’t even miss it, and moreover, you can place its picture on the internet.
Again, this is a SERIOUS offer. My colleagues and I feel a necessity to keep our identities confidential (you understand), but I assure you of our sincerity. However, we insist that negotiations be handled publicly through this website. Please reply to this message to begin the process.
Best,
Alumni with values
My daughter and I were among the 200 today at Rice University. It was incredibly hot and I am sunburned now, but I would do all over again in a heart beat. There is no other radio station like KTRU 91.7FM. KTRU is worth fighting for.
My daughter, a senior this year in high school, is now reconsidering applying to Rice for because of the way the Rice administration has secretly handled the pending sale. To paraphrase what she told me today at the rally after hearing all the speakers: If this is how Rice treats its students, I don’t want to go here.
She happens to think a student run radio station, that you can hear on any radio, is very cool, and I agree.
check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R2l4FHQyuo
The “sell Willy’s statue” comments show a lack of maturity on the KTRU supporters part. This is the classic “they did it” style argument used when younger.
Alumni with values – such comments do nothing but make Rice look ridiculous to the city of Houston. You want to stop the sale – then come up with a compelling reason to do so.
@Antarius — I think you’re missing the point. “Alumni with values” isn’t offering an argument of “they did it”, it’s reductio ad absurdum. Maybe the point could have been more plainly put, maybe that would have helped you and/or others, but to make it more plain: the arguments the administration is advancing for the necessity of selling KTRU could be advanced to argue for selling any of a number of other institutions and/or resources which the university possess. The sale of those other assets (such as the statue) is not acceptable, therefore it can be concluded that the arguments given by the administration are not, in fact, sufficient justification for their actions. The administration is not being candid about their reasoning. They are also putting up a pretence of acting as though no one cares or cared, which is demonstrably false. Since this is an asset which is, in fact, of value to some of the Rice community, since it’s an asset which was important to some Rice students choosing the school, and for a whole host of other reasons, it should not have been unilaterally disposed of without dialogue with those students (at a bare minimum), and with the broader community. Got anything else to say? Anything actually mature, any demonstration of understanding the arguments being put forth?
My anger prevents me from posting anything constructive. Shame on the Rice administration.
eyrieowl –
As I have said before – this sets a good precedent to shed some of the deadweight Rice has been hauling around.
In any case, I am not sure why you cannot accept the line that not many people care. Bear in mind, the KTRU rally was attended by 200 people. Including the total student body and faculty, that is like 3 percent.
A lot of people will “support KTRU” online, but I did not see a record breaking turnout. It was as expected.
Regarding the students
1. Would KTRU be willing to sell the tower? – probably not, as demonstrated here
2. Would KTRU adapt their programming? once again, unlikely. The last attempt to get Rice games broadcast resulted in a giant mess on both sides with KTRU being shut down.
If the answer is NO and NO, then I feel that student dialogue would have done nothing but delay the inevitable.
Antarius, the fact that the news of the sale broke last week, during O-Week, means that the vast majority of students, faculty, staff and alumni were not even on campus on Sunday. It speaks to the passionate nature of the KTRU community that 200 people would come out in the blazing sun to support the station they love.
No one is disputing the passionate nature of the KTRU community. You have my respect for standing together for what you believe in.
It is the rest of Rice that seems significantly more apathetic.
I also do not see another feasible solution. The two questions I posed above – do you KTRU agreeing to either one?
@Antarius Even granting that the two cases you posed are the only ones that would lead to a solution, there are still problems with those questions. Of course, KTRU wouldn’t grant (1); the whole campaign is about not having the tower sold off. But (2) is trickier. It’s not just about “getting Rice games broadcast” as in the previous conflict that you use as your only evidence, the question is why programming would need to be “adapted” in the first place. KTRU as it stands now already broadcasts Rice sports, already broadcasts Shepherd School concerts and it even covers many Rice events on the weekly News Show. So, if you’re suggesting a programming change in order to market the university, that’s already being done. If you’re suggesting a programming change to gain more listeners, I would argue that number of listeners was never a quota to gauge the organization as successful or properly utilized. KTRU has, instead, always gauged its success on the level of musical/cultural education it is able to provide. If the administration thought otherwise, then it should have discussed it with KTRU before selling it off.
@Antarius – first, I think you are overreaching to say that the tower is dead weight. Who, exactly, was it dragging down? The tower was paid for with an endowment set up when it was donated. They’re not shutting down KTRU entirely, so presumably the most of the rest of the operating expenses of the station will continue to need to be met via the blanket tax…so where is “dead weight” being shed? If, instead, you’re thinking of maximizing the revenue potential for each and every portion of the university, well, that’s where the argument for capitalizing any and all other “assets” of the university comes in.
As far as other people caring…your point is? Did the student body vote to eliminate KTRU? No? I don’t think there’s any other standard I’d apply. Most Rice students probably don’t care about Rice Dance Theater, or the Rice Players (and look at that under-utilized Hammond Hall…how much does *that* cost the university?), or any of a host of other organisations. I’m sorry, but “lot’s of people caring” doesn’t define “deserves to keep existing” to me. Please feel free to argue otherwise though.
So, to your points. 1. Why should KTRU have been willing to sell the tower? KTRU gained the tower through its own activities and efforts, it was funded from money which came with the tower. What need is there for KTRU to sell it? And if it’s being sold, why shouldn’t the full proceeds of the sale go to KTRU?
2. Well, first, we’ll never know. But if the student body wanted to change the direction of KTRU’s programming, they had it in their power to do so. Hell, the administration could have lobbied the full student body to encourage them to get KTRU to make those (hypothetical, completely nebulous) changes. There would have been resistance and reluctance, and probably some changes, and some compromise reached, and then…life goes on. Where’s the bad in that scenario? I don’t think the administration cared about the programming particularly, they just wanted to offload an asset and get some cash. Because they didn’t exactly try to make any changes before selling. The only reason the administration cared about the popularity of the station is because they felt its low listener-ship would make things go more smoothly for them when they sold the thing.
I really don’t see why you feel the sale was inevitable. The tower was funded BY AN ENDOWMENT. The only way the sale of the tower was inevitable is if you accept that every asset of the university *must* be available for capitalization…which takes us back to the question…how much is Willy’s statue worth?
Before I post, I am a Rice alum who used to, passionately, DJ and work at KTRU. After reading the comments and posts (I understand I am a little late), in particular by Antarius, I cannot help but agree with the points s/he made.
The main problem is that the Rice community is largely apathetic to KTRU. Why? you may ask. During my time at KTRU, I have seen and viewed the way new music is weeded out and stacked for permanent stay in the room. A few members of the management, I have long forgotten their names, have made it to be that their specific music interest infiltrate the stacks. This music is literally static driven, noisy, non-music. One minute of listening to this stuff will make even the most avid underground music lover bored.
Of course, there may be other sides to this I have not witnessed, but during my years, yes, years at KTRU, I remember with disdain the way these members of management (they’re probably long gone) negatively impacted the music KTRU would play. It was a darn shame we let so much of this static, noise (and I don’t mean Sonic Youth, this is literally noise) have so much airplay to begin with.