widb history: a forward

Before we begin...
(a Forward)

   WIDB began not in 1970, but in the '60s. At the time, being dissatisfied with existing radio choices and starting one's own station was radical. Having an entirely student-administered, student-operated and student-staffed station was downright heretical in the '60s as it was terribly threatening to then-existing power structures. Just having these ideas and seriously attempting to make them reality is quite amazing. Actually SUCCEEDING in the face of a horribly byzantine bureaucratic culture was nothing short of monumental.

   This history is dedicated to Jerry Chabrian, a man who had a vision, saw the potential to activate multiple generations of students, and didn't rest until he, along with others, made it happen. This history is also dedicated to all other "charter" and "pre-charter" members, without whose sacrifices and dedication WIDB would never have made it to sign-on. Lastly, this history is also dedicated to the special members over the years who have been obsessively fierce in their efforts to maintain and expand WIDB as a truly student-administered, student-staffed and student-operated service to the SIU/C'dale students and community.

   The prospect of a radio station/organization such as WIDB represented a threat of change to almost all elements of the SIU landscape. Starting WIDB required either approval or cooperation from many interest groups in the university mosaic. This demanded very large amounts of skill, vision, energy, time, persistence, and consistency. A tremendous effort was required to make such a change in the culture. The general conditions, as will be described, are important, since these are what gave Jerry his opening.

   If not for the draft, the riots, the major swelling of the adolescent population (and its resulting identity, power, and assertiveness), the breathtaking expansion of the university, the bumbling indifference to student needs by some faculty and administrators (and the sincere caring for students by others), the station might never have been born. As it was, opposing forces almost prevented WIDB from advertising, and has prevented WIDB from going open air in any (legal) form.

   Some readers may have predisposed attitudes about certain historical events such as the Vietnam war, the draft and those who wished to avoid it, protests, agitation, violent protests, looting, police and soldiers tear gassing, beating, bayoneting and shooting unarmed protesters and curfew violators, etc. We do not now write this merely to disturb these attitudes. It can be painful to have formed an attitude only to be confronted with contrary evidence. Reports in this history of SIU events are based on documentary evidence and eyewitness accounts. That said, if you too have eyewitness accounts and/or relevant documents of your own, please pass them along to us. Otherwise this history will never be complete, and as well you'll have to deal with your own predispositions.

   This is a living, not dead, history. There is always new information to include. Please help us. Feel free to correct, amend, embellish. Tell us your stories about when you were in C'dale. Tell us how your experience in C'dale has impacted your life. Tell us about the unique characters you met and/or hung out with in C'dale. And, tell us about you and WIDB.

   The entire nation and world endured dramatic change in the '60s. SIU and C'dale experienced this as young adults and adolescents asserted themselves to demand more responsibility, power, and allocation of resources. The effort to create WIDB was part of this. WIDB was not about burning down buildings or exterminating the establishment. WIDB was about being independent, taking care of ourselves, finding our own identity, serving our brothers and sisters, and forming a positive and hopeful vision for the future. But WIDB, and those who made it happen, were not on an island. They were in the middle of a stormy environment fraught with continual change.