I am writing this letter in regard to the policy of our campus radio station, Revolution 91.7, not only as an ex-disc jockey, but as a listener of the station, and therefore a consumer.

From speaking to many of the DJs at the station, I have gathered a general feeling of unrest and resentment toward management of the station. DJs complain that their tastes are not being fully considered and that the station panders to the musical preferences of the station manager.

I personally can attest to this and have my own complaints about the stations logs (the layout of what a DJ must play during their shift).

Revolution differs from many other campus radio stations in that they use logs as opposed to letting DJs play whatever they want (within FCC regulations, of course). The argument for this is that DJs won’t just play the same thing over and over again and that there will be more diversity in the music played by the station.

While this sounds good in theory, I believe that the opposite actually happens. The station’s logs are created by a select group of people who have their own musical preferences, which ultimately becomes what the station plays for the majority of the time. Where, while doing it the way other college stations do it, listeners would have to put up with a particular DJ’s taste for a three-hour shift, Revolution’s policy makes it so that listeners are hearing the same music all the time.

This inevitably is a turn off to many listeners who have tastes outside of what is usually being played. And in fact, this does happen. I have heard many people complain about Revolution’s music and very few who like the direction the station is going.

The problem stated above is only growing worse, according to the DJs I’ve spoken with. I heard reports from one DJ that the “DJ choice” slots (segments of the log allotted to DJs to choose their own music) were possibly going to be eliminated from the logs because it is in the best interests of the station that there not be so much diversity.

While at this point, this statement is only hearsay, it is ironic to think that it is even being considered by a station that calls itself “Revolution” and makes the claim “always progressive and never regressive,” as one of their slogans. “Progressive in whose opinion?” the listener should be asking.

I have also heard that the directors no longer stand at the front during the station meetings, and that it is only the station manager and the professor in charge (who often does not show) that ultimately guide the meetings, while more and more of the directors’ privileges are being taken away. The executive positions at the station are trying to take choices away from the existing directors, and directors positions are being created to accommodate people who have good standings with the station.

For example, an office manager’s position (summarized as someone who plans the award ceremony at the end of the year) was allegedly created to please a person who was not even a current DJ, but had good connections with some of the higher-ranking people at the station.

I believe that as a student body, whose money, in the long run, supports organizations such as our radio station, we should have a say in what our station is doing. Our DJs especially should have more say in what they do at the station, as they are not being paid, and it is solely volunteer work.

One would think that if someone offers their time, be it during the day when they could be hanging out with friends, or a night shift where they could be getting in sleep that they should at least be compensated with a modicum of free expression and the ability to spend that time in a way that they can better enjoy.

For DJs and listeners alike, the station needs change.

The opinions expressed in this commentary do not reflect those of the Herald or the university.