The Orbis

Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: News/Features

Media Credit: Erika Hyde DJ Tim Buchanan of "Old Timey Funky Fresh Jams" was one of 25 community DJs who were allowed to keep their shows.

In mid November, the Vanderbilt Student Communications board moved to cap the number of community disc jockeys allowed to host shows on WRVU at 25. In a vote of 7-1, the board decided that all existing community DJs needed to re-apply by Dec. 4 in a bid to keep their shows on the air.

The news broke when WRVU general manager Mikil Taylor sent an email to the station listserv, which read "the Vanderbilt Student Communications board met yesterday and set a limit of 25 for the number of nonaffiliated individuals who may participate as guest DJs at WRVU for the upcoming semester break and 2010 spring and summer schedules."

Members of the WRVU Executive Staff have complained not only that they felt left out of the decision-making process, but also that they were not even informed that the DJ cap was being considered. However, a week prior to the official announcement, Taylor emailed the executive staff that "the VSC board has decided to begin setting a limit on the amount of community members who can participate in the station." Prior to meeting with the board, Taylor allotted time to meet with WRVU staff to discuss reservations and concerns.

Although no resistance was offered during the week before the cap passed, Vanderbilt students and community members drafted a now-rejected counter proposal after the board's decision. In the wake of the cap, about half of WRVU's community DJs lost their time slots, and music directors Skye Bacus and Hugh Schlesinger, both sophomores, resigned in protest.

However, VSC board members are sticking to their guns. "I'd say there were three main issues: keeping WRVU student-centered, supporting the student staff of WRVU, and managing liability," said Brendan Alviani, senior. He concedes, though, that there were transparency problems. "However, this measure was also intended to address a lot of complex issues that weren't conveyed well outside of the board room," Alviani said.

Some DJs whose shows were canceled in response to the cap are understanding of the VSC board's intentions. "I fully understood the need to re-establish student presence into a college radio station," said Nashville's Bob Sham, former DJ of The Magical Mystery Show, which did not survive the re-application process.

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