the
volume xlv, issue 19 friday, 2/14/2014
Observer Programmer resigns from campus radio due to censorship concerns CWRU radio station responds, says parts of his show were being confused with “radio static”
Mike McKenna News Editor A longtime programmer for Case Western Reserve University’s campus radio station WRUW 91.1 FM resigned early last week from his post claiming he was “censored” by the station’s executive staff, led by General Manager Bethany Kaufman. Northeast Ohio resident Dominic, known as “Medium D” on his former Thursday 1-3 PM show Delicious Delusions of a Discriminating Mind, had been with the station for nearly 3 years and hosted over 225 shows. The Observer editorial staff complied with Dominic’s request to withhold his last name in an attempt to protect his stage presence.
Emails exchanged between Dominic and Kaufman show that the source of conflict stemmed from Kaufman’s request to have Dominic stop playing a song from the “harsh static” subgenre of the music genre “noise wall.” Describing the noise wall genre is difficult. It can probably best be called a futuristic, experimental genre of music that seeks to question the categories of sound and music. However, the harsh static subgenre is aptly named. Kaufman says that the station’s request for Dominic to stop playing “harsh static” music resulted from listeners contacting WRUW during Dominic’s show confusing the music with static from broadcast technical difficulties. According to Kaufman, two listeners con-
tacted the station during Dominic’s Jan. 23 show with such concerns; however, she says they were not the first to report a non-occurring technical difficulty. This prompted an investigation, Kaufman says, and after the executive board listened to past Delicious Delusions of a Discriminating Mind shows, they determined that the “harsh static” sounded too much like radio static to be allowed to continue. Kaufman, along with Program Director Laura Childers then requested via email that Dominic stop playing “static-like tracks.” Upon continuing to play this music on his Jan. 30 show, Dominic was issued another warning with an ultimatum that if he did not “refrain from playing noise wall” on his show, WRUW would give his “slot to another programmer.”
Observer Archives Despite a statement earlier this week that lumped “harsh static” and “noise wall” into the same categorization, which has since been retracted, Kaufman says that WRUW has no issue with the “noise wall” genre, only specific “harsh static” tracks that sound like the station is experiencing technical difficulties. “The executive staff of the station is responsible for approving all material that goes over our airwaves. It is our responsibility to make sure that it is clear to our listeners that we are on the air and are not experiencing technical difficulties,” Kaufman said. “This is at the core of our decision.” However, Dominic maintains that he was
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Cleveland Foundation initiative looks to strengthen relationship between University Circle, East Cleveland The eastern border of Cleveland has a split personality. It’s home to University Circle, one of the wealthiest areas in Cleveland, but also borders East Cleveland, a suburb which ranks among the poorest in Ohio. This has created a dichotomy between the residents of the majority of East Cleveland and the visitors who come to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Botanical Garden and Severance Hall, to name a few of the attractions in University Circle. With
the expansion of University Circle, the divide will only widen. The Greater University Circle Initiative (GUCI) is attempting to lessen the discrepancy and help the surrounding community take advantage of the resources available to them. GUCI’s goal is to build a relationship between University Circle and East Cleveland. The initiative plans on making partnerships between many organizations, including Case Western Reserve University with the Social Justice Institute, as well as University Hospitals. GUCI has built graduate school housing on the border of East Cleveland as an experiment to see if people
would want to live there. If the response is positive, then this will create opportunities for more housing for young professionals. According to Brenda Mathias, a CWRU masters student working on the project, they have assessed what is currently available in East Cleveland and what is still needed. About 12 million dollars are invested to fund the necessary construction work. Multiple vacant properties and houses in the area need either demolition or repair, and a lack of fresh food is available to the community. East Clevelanders must leave the area in order to find a grocery store. “We are trying to build a very fundamental
community aspect,” says Mathias. “How do we get grocery stores? How do we get jobs?” Unfortunately, looking at East Cleveland’s future from a broad perspective yields an uncertain conclusion. The overall response from possible investors has been negative. The current budget leaves the city’s government almost bankrupt. It is uncertain whether or not the community can survive off of grants and federal aid. Future investment would attempt to develop retail and revenue, not just red-light cameras and ticketing.
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pg. 2 New restaurant to open at Sergio’s
pg. 9 Cheer up by dressing up
pg.11 Demystifying diversity
pg. 20 Spring tennis season starts
Jeniece Montellano Copy Editor
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