Campus radio stations across Ontario, including Carleton’s CKCU 93.1 FM, are petitioning for the provincial government to make the fees that fund their services mandatory for students in the Student Choice Initiative (SCI).
The SCI gives students the option to opt-out of paying ancillary fees that fund student-run organizations on campus such as the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), the Graduate Students’ Assocation (GSA), CKCU, and the Charlatan.
Started in 1975, CKCU is the first campus-based radio station in Canada. As of the 2018-2019 school year, each undergraduate student pays an annual fee of $14.25 to CKCU, collected through CUSA.
According to Mathew Crosier, CKCU’s station manager, a petition to raise awareness about the need for campus radio has been created by campus stations across the province because he said the SCI is not democratic and not how the fees were first brought in.
“All of the fees were done by referendums on campuses by students who are currently attending, so this is a big change from that,” he said. “A large number of the students have never been here, therefore it’s difficult for them to get a sense of the value.”
“There’s no debate,” he added. “There’s no opportunity to inform—there’s just a tick on the box.”
Crosier said it’s important to save campus radio stations because it is a way for students to get experience and help them get jobs.
“There are certainly not as many jobs in radio, but a lot of the people who are with us here are getting experience here, so they’re working in media relations or public relations,” he said. “They’re building their skill set here. It’s often hard to get work on your resumé, and here’s an opportunity for writing and producing on the airwaves with an audience.”
“It counts towards your co-curricular record which can help with grants, bursaries, and job applications,” Lindsay Morrison, CKCU’S volunteer and community coordinator, added.
According to Dave Aardvark, the program director for CKCU, students also often come into the studio to take a break from their classes and enjoy the company of people who want to talk about their passions.
“There’s definitely a social and and community aspect of the station,” he said.
“It’s such a family, we’re all from different backgrounds but we share a love for radio,” Harriet Smith, a production volunteer at the station, said.
Image by Harriet Smith
