VSC cap on community DJs stirs controversy
Jon Christian
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: News/Features
A post on the popular blog "Nashville Cream" quickly garnered hundreds of comments from irate community members, some calling for a boycott or counter proposal, and some just spewing vitriol. Bloggers were further angered by a source for the Nashville Scene who clarified that it was the number of community DJs, not the number of community shows, that was being capped. In other words, if two community DJs co-host a show on WRVU, as is often the case, they are claiming two precious community DJ slots even though they are using only one slot of airtime.
Many internet users corroborated these concerns online. "I also think it would make more sense to base the cutoff on number of slots, not number of DJs. It's better, not worse, for shows to have 2 DJs, since it makes them less prone to needing fill-ins and more easily able to cope with technical difficulties," said a poster identified as Emily.
Back in September, there was a brief uproar over WRVU's cancellation of the wellreceived show "The Best of Bread," run by brothers and community DJs Chris and Greg Crofton. According to Director of Student Media Chris Carroll, the show was canceled because the Crofton brothers moved a web cam in the studio.
This was enough to concern some community members, but VSC insisted that it was just a matter of an equipment violation. According to the Nashville Scene, Chris Carroll was dismissive, saying that "nobody's getting rid of community DJs." Just two months later, the VSC board introduced the cap on community DJ participation.
The groundswell of support for community DJs has not been limited to the non-Vanderbilt community.
"After the proposal was rejected, we notified Mikil of our resignation," said former Music Director Bacus. "I am extremely disappointed in the VSC's decision."
Even though in the public eye the cap was primarily to free up radio time for Vanderbilt students, many have pointed out that WRVU's schedule is not that full right now. In fact, time slots during which no DJs are scheduled are filled in by a computerized song-queuing application which has been nicknamed "DJ HAL," after the antagonist in "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Many internet users corroborated these concerns online. "I also think it would make more sense to base the cutoff on number of slots, not number of DJs. It's better, not worse, for shows to have 2 DJs, since it makes them less prone to needing fill-ins and more easily able to cope with technical difficulties," said a poster identified as Emily.
Back in September, there was a brief uproar over WRVU's cancellation of the wellreceived show "The Best of Bread," run by brothers and community DJs Chris and Greg Crofton. According to Director of Student Media Chris Carroll, the show was canceled because the Crofton brothers moved a web cam in the studio.
This was enough to concern some community members, but VSC insisted that it was just a matter of an equipment violation. According to the Nashville Scene, Chris Carroll was dismissive, saying that "nobody's getting rid of community DJs." Just two months later, the VSC board introduced the cap on community DJ participation.
The groundswell of support for community DJs has not been limited to the non-Vanderbilt community.
"After the proposal was rejected, we notified Mikil of our resignation," said former Music Director Bacus. "I am extremely disappointed in the VSC's decision."
Even though in the public eye the cap was primarily to free up radio time for Vanderbilt students, many have pointed out that WRVU's schedule is not that full right now. In fact, time slots during which no DJs are scheduled are filled in by a computerized song-queuing application which has been nicknamed "DJ HAL," after the antagonist in "2001: A Space Odyssey."
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