chapter 13

Jerry persevered in his efforts to create a student radio station. In November, the effort’s senate supporters moved ahead to insure more student control in the future station.

The Student Senate amended Jerry’s original proposal to provide that:

These changes, approved November 13, 1968, completely diluted almost all aspects of faculty power at the board. The faculty representative was now an "advisor," not "supervisor," not automatically chairman, and could only have one vote. Moreover, he or she would now be appointed by a student, and could appeal board decisions only to students. These changes were proposed and approved, it is surmised, only after it was perceived that more student control would not be fatal to the plan.

   Jerry moved ahead to get board members appointed. He developed a reasonable business relationship with Dean of Students Wilbur Moulton, who authorized a $3,000 “startup fund” for the effort. To this day, Jerry reports that Dean Moulton’s personal sympathies were unclear. Did he really support the students, or was he simply one of the few bureaucrats who took his job description seriously when it said "facilitate student development?" As early as December, 1968, Dean Moulton expressed his hope (in a memo to Jerry) “that the station begin operation before the end of the academic year.” This buoyed Jerry’s spirits, but it was a tad optimistic.

   The Board of Directors of the (yet unnamed) “Student Radio Station” met for the first time on May 5, 1969. It had taken about six months to get enough members appointed and confirmed. At the first meeting, a proposed budget and funding request for the 69-70 academic year was approved. This was later approved by the Student Senate. In those days, all of the Student Senate Activity Fee annual budget allocations had to be approved by the SIU Board of Trustees.

   This is the first record of the Board considering any student radio matters. It was merely a single item in a long laundry list of student clubs’ annual allocations. Yet at least one of the trustees reacted to the line item “Student Radio Station---$8,000.00.” The trustee, Harris Allen of Carmi, was concerned that this would “duplicate existing service--WSIU--and be a waste of money.” He sought to delete funding, which would have killed the project instantly. Even worse, he made a motion to table, i.e., put it off, for more study.

   It was the same old arguments from the University Council days. But it was too late. After all of the years of study and bureaucratic limbo, no other trustee was willing to support further delay. Allen’s separate motions to delete and to table funding for a student radio station both died for lack of a second. Jerry had made it through the final administrative hoop. The Board of Trustees had considered the new radio station, approved its existence, found it eligible for annual funding, and had approved a full year’s funding for school year 69-70.

   Jerry had completed the goal of acceptance and authorization by the general university bureaucracy. But this merely gave him license to fight for a share of university benefits. A station needed a space, remodeling, equipment, access to restricted university areas, publicity, staff leaders, staff, training for both, not to mention program material (like records). University funding helped, but it couldn’t buy everything that was needed. Jerry’s work was just starting.

   Although the bureaucratic battle for official recognition was Jerry's priority in 68-69, he realized that the next effort would be to asemble the nucleus and staff of the new radio station. Jerry did not neglect this. As early as fall of '68, Jerry visited the pirate stations. He painted a vision of a new station: one with real equipment purchased with student activity funds, its own studio and offices, a CAMPUS-WIDE station operated only by STUDENTS. Jerry invited all of the pirate broadcasters to join the effort for the new station.

   More than any other pirate, WLTH provided a significant contribution to the future station's nucleus. WLTH Program Director Howie Karlin became program director of the new station. WLTH engineer Dan Mordini became chief engineer of the new station. These two were appointed members of the initial Student Radio Station Board of Directors. From WLTH also came Jim Hoffman and Tom Scheithe, who (respectively) became Music and Operations Directors of the new station. Dan Sheldon's voice became the signature of the new station.

   Tom Scheithe reports that , starting in spring, '69, there was a growing hope and expectation that the "new station" would be on by the fall of '69. When WLTH signed off for the summer in June, '69, there was a consensus that all efforts would be channeled into the new station by fall.

   Students returned to SIU in late September '69 (remember, SIU was on quarters then; fall quarter started last week of September) to find that a station had been funded and recognized, but it had no equipment, no space, no records, and no real staff. Even though WLTH was no more, other pirates, such as WBHR-Boomer, continued. It was now up to Jerry and the other "nuclear" members to marshall the available resources and make a station.

   Shortly after school resumed, the board met and elected Jerry, Howie and Dan as an Executive Committee to make certain decisions. One decision was to select the call letters of the new station. What happened next has become perhaps the most enduring mystery of the radio station, which has never been resolved to this day.

Money, Recognition, Recruitment

   Jerry persevered in his efforts to create a student radio station. In November, the effort’s senate supporters moved ahead to insure more student control in the future station.

   The Student Senate amended Jerry’s original proposal to provide that:

   These changes, approved November 13, 1968, completely diluted almost all aspects of faculty power at the board. The faculty representative was now an "advisor," not "supervisor," not automatically chairman, and could only have one vote. Moreover, he or she would now be appointed by a student, and could appeal board decisions only to students. These changes were proposed and approved, it is surmised, only after it was perceived that more student control would not be fatal to the plan.

   Jerry moved ahead to get board members appointed. He developed a reasonable business relationship with Dean of Students Wilbur Moulton, who authorized a $3,000 “startup fund” for the effort. To this day, Jerry reports that Dean Moulton’s personal sympathies were unclear. Did he really support the students, or was he simply one of the few bureaucrats who took his job description seriously when it said "facilitate student development?" As early as December, 1968, Dean Moulton expressed his hope (in a memo to Jerry) “that the station begin operation before the end of the academic year.” This buoyed Jerry’s spirits, but it was a tad optimistic.

   The Board of Directors of the (yet unnamed) “Student Radio Station” met for the first time on May 5, 1969. It had taken about six months to get enough members appointed and confirmed. At the first meeting, a proposed budget and funding request for the 69-70 academic year was approved. This was later approved by the Student Senate. In those days, all of the Student Senate Activity Fee annual budget allocations had to be approved by the SIU Board of Trustees.

   This is the first record of the Board considering any student radio matters. It was merely a single item in a long laundry list of student clubs’ annual allocations. Yet at least one of the trustees reacted to the line item “Student Radio Station---$8,000.00.” The trustee, Harris Allen of Carmi, was concerned that this would “duplicate existing service--WSIU--and be a waste of money.” He sought to delete funding, which would have killed the project instantly. Even worse, he made a motion to table, i.e., put it off, for more study.

   It was the same old arguments from the University Council days. But it was too late. After all of the years of study and bureaucratic limbo, no other trustee was willing to support further delay. Allen’s separate motions to delete and to table funding for a student radio station both died for lack of a second. Jerry had made it through the final administrative hoop. The Board of Trustees had considered the new radio station, approved its existence, found it eligible for annual funding, and had approved a full year’s funding for school year 69-70.

   Jerry had completed the goal of acceptance and authorization by the general university bureaucracy. But this merely gave him license to fight for a share of university benefits. A station needed a space, remodeling, equipment, access to restricted university areas, publicity, staff leaders, staff, training for both, not to mention program material (like records). University funding helped, but it couldn’t buy everything that was needed. Jerry’s work was just starting.

   Although the bureaucratic battle for official recognition was Jerry's priority in 68-69, he realized that the next effort would be to asemble the nucleus and staff of the new radio station. Jerry did not neglect this. As early as fall of '68, Jerry visited the pirate stations. He painted a vision of a new station: one with real equipment purchased with student activity funds, its own studio and offices, a CAMPUS-WIDE station operated only by STUDENTS. Jerry invited all of the pirate broadcasters to join the effort for the new station.

   More than any other pirate, WLTH provided a significant contribution to the future station's nucleus. WLTH Program Director Howie Karlin became program director of the new station. WLTH engineer Dan Mordini became chief engineer of the new station. These two were appointed members of the initial Student Radio Station Board of Directors. From WLTH also came Jim Hoffman and Tom Scheithe, who (respectively) became Music and Operations Directors of the new station. Dan Sheldon's voice became the signature of the new station.

   Tom Scheithe reports that , starting in spring, '69, there was a growing hope and expectation that the "new station" would be on by the fall of '69. When WLTH signed off for the summer in June, '69, there was a consensus that all efforts would be channeled into the new station by fall.

   Students returned to SIU in late September '69 (remember, SIU was on quarters then; fall quarter started last week of September) to find that a station had been funded and recognized, but it had no equipment, no space, no records, and no real staff. Even though WLTH was no more, other pirates, such as WBHR-Boomer, continued. It was now up to Jerry and the other "nuclear" members to marshall the available resources and make a station.

   Shortly after school resumed, the board met and elected Jerry, Howie and Dan as an Executive Committee to make certain decisions. One decision was to select the call letters of the new station. What happened next has become perhaps the most enduring mystery of the radio station, which has never been resolved to this day.

end of Chapter 13