 |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
If you don't ask,
they can't say no.
| Station construction had four phases:
(1) Walls/windows/doors; Obviously, (1) had to be done first. Money had been appropriated for studio construction. But, before materials were purchased, it was discovered that putting in a purchase order for building materials would trigger an inquiry from Physical Plant about the union labor needed to install the materials. WIDB members wanted to perform the labor themselves. But university policy (and the contracts they had with unions) required union labor (at union rates) to install walls and windows. The ostensible purpose of this policy was high quality construction. From today's perspective, it appears that the actual purpose of this policy was to get as much money as possible into union members' hands, and to use student fee (here, activity fee) money for this purpose whenever possible. The effect of this policy, if literally enforced, would have been to prevent the birth of WIDB since WIDB had a very small total construction and no operating budget. Heated discussions went on in the WIDB "Board" room, interrupted only when a bewildered Wright I resident came in for his laundry. The station had an allocation of $10,000 to get on the air. Using union labor to construct the station would cost over $20,000. Students were again the last priority, an afterthought. Even if students were eager and ready to work for free, the university policy required students to do nothing. Only when and if the proper university account was paid the high union rate for labor were students officially allowed to pursue their projects, their dreams, the personal growth they sought by attending college. What is the purpose of college if not to encourage student initiative? From today's perspective, it appears that, at SIU, student initiative was often discouraged by the administration. The WIDB'ers were bright, energetic, enthusiastic, and (mostly) competent. Yet the effect of this university policy, if fully enforced, would prevent students from acting. Time and again, it seems obvious that facilitating student initiative was not even considered by university policy authors. It's certainly reasonable to seek high quality buildings, and they cost a lot of money. At some point, the zeal for great structures must take a back seat to the prime goal of the university: facilitating student initiative. Jerry had torn out a page from a magazine. It had a quote from Robert Browning, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp." Jerry reports that this quote inspired him repeatedly when all seemed lost. Members surprised even themselves with what they could accomplish against adversity. Jerry and the others knew they could not observe the policy. They sought the required funding for union labor, but all known potential sources of funding on short notice were exhausted. Even if obtained, the project would be delayed at least a year. They might lose the space in Wright I, and they would certainly lose the momentum they had built. The new station had been publicized. Jerry and Charlie had prepared welcoming letters for new staff members (see attached document). Ads seeking staff members appeared in the DE. Harvey Welstein found WIDB through one such ad. Auditions for on-air personnel continued. The station was publishing a music "survey" ("Heavy Hit List"--see document) as if programming had started. There was a full head of steam. Jerry and the others would not be denied. To give up was unthinkable. They had to find a way to build the station themselves, quickly--and they could not spend any university funds for materials. Members could not raise enough personal funds to pay for them. The materials had to be found free--and fast! For some time, the Student Government and Student Activities offices had been slated for remodeling. Jerry knew of this but it was another project that was scheduled to begin in July, but would probably begin in November or March two years later. The remodeling actually occurred mainly during Christmas, 1969. Almost as an afterthought, Jerry arranged to have the old discarded partition walls and windows removed from the University Center and stored in the basement at Schneider. This was done with the cooperation of Housing Emperor Sam Rinella. He was somewhat bemused by Jerry's attempt to make use of the unwanted, used materials. At that time, Jerry was still expecting to construct new walls to build WIDB. When new construction was no longer an option, the used materials became very important. Jerry assembled the troops to get the materials over to the station. "We had to remove the items from where they were being temporarily stored within 24 hours. We used a pickup truck from motor pool to move them," Jerry remembered. Dan, Howie, Tom, Woody, Jerry, Charlie and others loaded the discarded partitions, frames, glass windows, and anything else in the area that looked discarded and potentially useful for the new WIDB. WIDB now had what it needed: materials for build out. It was time to start building. No one realized how fast it would have to be done. One day in late February, 1970, Jerry received a tip from Sam Rinella that an inspector from physical plant was coming to WIDB the next morning. The purpose of the inspection was to determine the "existing condition" of room 11 (where WIDB was) so that any NEW construction (beyond the "existing condition") would be pursuant to policy, at union rates. The point was that whatever was there (or could be built by the next morning) would be allowed to remain, and no money for university or union workers would have to be paid. Jerry found out in the late afternoon. He assessed the situation. If WIDB was to sign on by spring, buildout had to be complted almost immediately. For buildout to be completed immediately, the discarded materials had to be successfully used. If WIDB was going to use the old materials, they had to be installed by students. If they were going to be installed by students, work had to be completed in 16 hours, by 8 am the next day. It was time to spring into action. Jerry remembers, "We assembled as many helpers we could find. Even non-WIDB'ers, such as Art Tobias, Buzz Spector, (who were Senators) and Sylvia Redmond. Art was an art major, and he was the one who chose the mostly green and black colors. I never traveled anywhere without some tools, even at SIU. Many of us had some tools here and there and they were all pressed into service. The power drill used to drill the cement anchors for securing the walls is one I still use today. I conducted a "class" in how to mount and assemble these pieces. As we got the hang of it, that info was passed onto the next group. Some drilled holes, some measured and cut pieces, some put together. It was quite a beehive of activity all night long." Everyone knew that the walls had to be built fast, before anyone had time to stop them. Jerry set a realistic goal: "We originally figured that whatever we could get done in a night, we wouldn't have to pay someone to put up. Turns out we got all the walls up that night!" The enthuastic support and energy of staff and nuclear members alike built the station in a matter of hours. The inspection the next day was uneventful. The premises had been fully cleaned about 6 am to erase any traces of new construction. The inspectors looked around, made some notes, and left. After they left, the crew continued the finishing out process over the next 3 days. Why did Sam Rinella tip Jerry off in advance of the inspecton? "I got the feeling that Sam expected us to self-dstruct," said Jerry. "He seemed kind of surprised that we had pulled it off. When he finally came down one day he was impressed with the construction. He always made fun of the 'tractor green' walls." This was the beginning of an important tradition that became a cornerstone of WIDB. The troops gathered when needed, when there was a crisis. And the crisis usually involved the University impeding the station from doing something important. Over a four day period in February, 1970, the troops gathered. It was now or never. Almost overnight, walls with windows appeared. There were metal frames/supports, plywood walls from ceiling to floor, and single pane large windows. Fans were installed in the walls for ventilation. Three rooms on the west side, one on the east, and a (relatively) large room in the middle. The three rooms were jock studio, news studio, and master control/engineering. The east room started as the record library, but later became production. The middle room was the "office." |
end of Chapter 16
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Message Board | The Source Contact |