VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: APPALLING INACTION: PART II

"The problems today are not the evil actions of the bad people, but 
the appalling silence and inaction of the good people. "
---Martin Luther King, Jr.

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: APPALLING INACTION

Vanderbilt University recently sent out the Fall 2012 edition of Tunnel Vision, a ‘publication for alumni of student media at Vanderbilt University’. Half of the publication is dedicated to the where-are-they-now updates of alumni of Vanderbilt student media, such as WRVU. Going back to graduating classes from the early ’50s, proud WRVU alumni give short personal updates. The numerous contributing alumni with WRVU ties are varied and uniformly impressive – medical professionals, engineers, researchers, business leaders, media professionals, etc. It is clear that the WRVU experience either attracted the best of Vanderbilt and/or was a formative influence to future professional success. For instance, this Tunnel Vision edition featured an WRVU alumnus who went on the be a leader in treatment of Parkinsons and another who is a leader of a pediatric specialty hospital, but one such alumnus wrote the following:

"I'm quite saddened by the regrettably poor decision to move WRVU 
off the air."
---class of 1992. 

This alumnus suspects what we here at SaveWRVU know – but many alumni probably do not – the important formative experience of WRVU is all but decimated due to the recent actions of oddly unaccountable Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC). Referring to the Tunnel Vision publication, as the alumni updates progress into the 2000s, the WRVU contributions drop off noticeably. This is around the time when the recently configured, Chris Carroll led, VSC ramped up its campaign to hobble WRVU. Coincidence?

If you haven’t been following, WRVU Friends and Family have been fighting VSC’s proposed sale of WRVU’s on-air license. The strategy appears to be working. The VSC, who are expecting a $3.5 million payday from poaching WRVU’s assets are understandably loading their diapers in rage. The VSC and Media Advisor Chris Carroll, probably the person most responsible for this nonsense, together continue to lash-out at WRVU in infantile ways.

VSC: VANDERBILT STUDENT COMMUNICATIONS CONTROL

Here is a list of some of the more despicable actions carried out by VSC:
1) Unilaterally dismissing popular and long serving DJs from WRVU. Why? Just cuz..
2) WRVU has no representation on the VSC, but the VSC continually alters the policies and restrictions to those involved with WRVU with little to no input from even the officers of WRVU.
3) The tie between the Nashville community and Vanderbilt students has been completely severed as Chris Carroll has unilaterally blocked community DJ applications.
4) introducing vague threats by mandating that “editorializing on air” (read: censoring student WRVU DJs) as a policy violation that “may result in permanent suspension”.
5) All student DJs must use a 24/7 “in-studio webcam and agree to be broadcast on the webcam video stream”. (read: VSC surveillance) to guarantee a nice and docile ‘compliance’ and to generate a climate so miserable that few would tolerate.
6) and hence WRVU broadcast is often ‘dead air’ (auto-rotation DJ HAL). It is likely no one will be listening, but you do know that the VSC will. always. be. watching.

WHAT ARE THE LATEST VSC ABUSES?

VSC Vulture

Even though Chris Carroll and the VSC have all but broke the back of WRVU by gutting WRVU of autonomy, they continue to turn the screws. Last fall, The VSC, with no explanation, eliminated all non-active students from WRVU participation. Vanderbilt students put together a petition signed by nearly all student DJs, along with personal written statements, and presented it to the VSC in protest. The VSC, after months of feet-dragging, finally considered the petition and finally came up with a decision of provisional restating non-student DJs IF they pay for, AND, pass a back-ground check. !?! Whatever the student’s wishes, The VSC’s message is loud and clear – “non-active students are not welcome”. Why? These DJs have institutional knowledge of how WRVU used to be. Place a wedge between active students and alumni/staff with long running WRVU involvement, and in time, with student attrition, the current status quo, however intolerable, will be accepted as normal. Keep your victims ignorant and compliant.

STEALING FROM PETER TO PAY PAUL THE VSC

The very students who are getting browbeat and marginalized by the petty bullying of the VSC are the ones paying the VSC ‘adult’ salaries. Vanderbilt University claims they have no say in the actions of the VSC, but Vanderbilt students fund the VSC via mandatory student activity fees. So a cabal of unaccountable ‘adults’ get to push around Vanderbilt students with impunity, and, get paid by the victims! P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C. How can a purported top-tier university tolerate this appalling treatment of their students? The Vanderbilt administration and Board of Trust continues to watch dead-eyed as this embarrassing and shameful act unfolds under their noses.

BUT WAIT, IT GETS WORSE…

As you already know, VSC is trying to sell its only real asset, WRVU’s on-air license. But is Vanderbilt indirectly funding WPLN, the tentative purchaser of the WRVU’s on-air license? Vanderbilt affiliates have bought on-air and online ads from WPLN, that is, Vanderbilt affiliated organizations are providing back-door funding for the shameless destruction of Vanderbilt’s own student organization!

If you have been keeping up with the plight of WRVU, you will know that WRVU Friends and Family launched a sophisticated legal appeal to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during VSC’s recent attempt at license transfer to WPLN. WRVU F+F petition brought to the attention of the FCC VSC’s attempt to poach a federally designated ‘community asset’ for cash, is not only dubious, quasi-legal, but certainly, in no way, serves the public interest. WRVU Friends and Family’s end goal is to get WRVU back on-air and out of from under the unaccountable petty meddling of the VSC.

It is critical that YOU STAY WITH US, and yes, we are watching the situation very closely.

SOME BACK STORY…

As expected by us here at SaveWRVU, The VSC has been employing the long-game approach. VSC knows that the sale of WRVU will be made easier if they wait it out using natural attrition of students, via graduation, along with a steady drip of intimidation to make the sale of WRVU seem like a foregone conclusion.

VSC’s initial announcement to sell WRVU was made in 2010. It is now 2013. The deadline for the contract agreement between the VSC and NPR has even long passed with no final deal done. The sale has not been completed largely by the large and persistent support of WRVU supporters. It seems WRVU supporters have a bit of a ‘long game’ of their own. For starters, the good people at WRVU Friends and Family have successfully raised some of the several dubious actions directly to the governing organization of community radio licenses, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), via a series of Petitions to Deny VSC’s intention to poach a public asset for their own cash gain.

Regardless of what you have been led to believe, WRVU license has not been transferred and can still be returned to the students, where it belongs.

WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:

1) If you have the opportunity to appeal to Vanderbilt Administration or Alumni Relations, relay your disgust. Withhold donating to Vanderbilt pledge drives until they correct this very obvious wrong. Tell Vanderbilt to stop being the dead-eyed, hand-wringing enabler.

2) Contribute to the WRVU Friend and Family Fund. Donate. Get friends and family to donate. Go HERE to donate.

HOLIDAY CHEER!

GIVE TO WRVU F&F THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Remember: Nashville Public Radio (WPLN) has a CONTRACT to purchase 91.1 FM but the SALE HAS NOT HAPPENED YET and there is nothing that prevents Vanderbilt University, VSC, or WPLN from walking away from the deal and returning WRVU to 91.1 FM.

It has become clear that we simply cannot accomplish our mission of reviving 91.1 FM without a very real and very strong showing of financial support. Such support will enable us to continue the legal strategy that has the ‘evil-doers’ wetting themselves and shaming them in front of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into returning 91.1 where it belongs – to the Vanderbilt students and the Nashville community.

Feel confidant that we would not be asking for your money now, nor would we waste our time fund-raising, if we did not believe it would be useful in our campaign to recover 91. 1 FM.

Gifts of any amount are welcome but the sooner we handle this the better. Why not turn that $10 gift into $100? $20 gift into $200? Or $50 into $5,000? Think about all WRVU has done for you and no matter how much you give, I am certain that you will be getting a deal.

PLEASE GIVE NOW.

Visit VivaWRVU.org to Donate.

Remember that generous donors get to pick one of the few remaining limited edition custom posters!! (They make great gifts too!!!)

Please give in whatever way you can and ask your own friends & family to do the same — you could even ask Santa to make a donation on your behalf. It is hard to think of a better gift than ‘RVU*!!!

Join us in this campaign for the recovery of 91.1 Nashville and for the protection of college radio everywhere. It will take a Miracle to get WRVU back on the air, but with snowmen dancing and reindeer flying, it seems like a fantastic time of year to try!

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VIVA WRVU!

LEGAL FRONT CONTINUES…

WRVU FRIENDS AND FAMILY CONTINUE LEGAL BATTLE

If you have been following the events around WRVU over the past year or so, you know that the Chris Carroll-led Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) is in the midst of a bald attempt to gut a Vanderbilt student-run organization, WRVU, by poaching-for-cash WRVU’s on-air license. This ‘reap-and-run’ selling of all of WRVU’s substantial assets, of course, is at the expense of the Vanderbilt students that the VSC is, by their own mission statement, charged to protect. [Apparently, the ‘Student’ in ‘Vanderbilt Student Communications’ is there for irony.] The greater Nashville “Music City” Community also stands to be robbed of a revered music institution.

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY

WRVU Friends and Family is leading a sophisticated legal appeal directly to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – the organization that administers the allotment of airwaves for public use. These recent petitions to the FCC spell out VSC’s failures in being a responsible steward of the WRVU on-air license. Due to VSC’s dubious handling of the on-air license, the VSC has no business selling it, and certainly has little grounds for justification of how the public can possibly be the benefactor of such a shameless cash-grab.

Here are the legal moves that have occurred in the past several weeks:

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WRVU Friends and Family Issue Petition to Deny. See HERE.
VSC Responds with Opposition Reply. See HERE.
WRVU Friends and Family’s Reply to Opposition to Petition to Deny See HERE.
Petition to Deny Assignment of WFCL (formally WRVU) License to Nashville Public Radio..
See HERE.

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DONATE! GET A POSTER!

The proposed sale of WRVU to WPLN is not serving anyone well, least of all Vanderbilt students and the Nashville Community. This sale can be stopped. That is why we need you to donate. Can you help bring WRVU back to the students and to Nashville? With your help, we can. If you think student/community radio is important, not just in Nashville, but everywhere, than you want to help save WRVU, if nothing else to send a signal to future vulture’s to say “Not so Fast!”. Please DONATE and get a beautiful hand-printed ‘bring WRVU back to its true glory’ memento as a reminder to your contribution to save WRVU!.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PETITION FILED TO HALT SALE OF WRVU LICENSE.

Nashville, TN – July 5, 2012 – Attorneys Michael Couzens and Alan Korn, acting on behalf of WRVU Friends & Family, have filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny the renewal of license for the Vanderbilt University radio station WRVU Nashville.

The petition by WRVU Friends & Family—a non-profit organization established last year by a group of community listeners, DJs, and Vanderbilt alumni—asserts that Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) acted ultra vires (in excess of legal authority) in initiating a sale agreement with Nashville Public Radio station WPLN. The petition states:

• VSC’s corporate charter and bylaws prohibit VSC from selling and/or relinquishing control of WRVU.

• The VSC board that voted to sell WRVU violated FCC Rules and Regulations with a series of substantial and abrupt changes to its board’s voting majority membership, of which it repeatedly failed to notify or seek approval from the FCC.

• The terms of the agreements between VSC and WPLN evince an attempt by both parties to circumvent FCC Rules and Regulations prohibiting the sale of airtime.

• Under the Management and Programming Agreement, VSC has relinquished control of the license’s management, programming, operation and financing to WPLN. This constitutes de facto grant of control over the license without Commission approval, a serious violation of the Communications Act.

• The FCC cannot make the necessary determination as to whether renewal of VSC’s license is in the public interest when WPLN is the entity in control of that license and VSC is but a zombie licensee that will provide no public service in the renewal term, but will simply collect its bargained-for cash price.

“[License] Renewal under these circumstances is simply not in the public interest,” says a statement from WRVU Friends and Family. “We are confident that the FCC will give due consideration to the issues we raise and will ultimately reject VSC’s renewal application while the agreements with WPLN are in place.”

Although a classical music feed from a studio at WPLN’s offices has been broadcast on 91.1 FM since June 7, 2011, the sale of WRVU’s license to Nashville Public Radio cannot be completed until Nashville Public Radio raises $3,250,000 from its supporters, and VSC receives authorization from the FCC to transfer control of the noncommercial license to Nashville Public Radio.

In spite of being one of the nation’s top college radio stations (averaging 28,500 unique weekly listeners from July to October 2010) in one of the country’s major music markets, WRVU has joined a notable number of other endangered college radio stations in the U.S. The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times have been covering the plight of college radio:

Chronicle of Higher Education, “What’s Eating College Radio?” Read HERE.

The New York Times, “As Stations Are Sold, Debate About College Radio” Read HERE.

Contact: Jeremy Benjamin, jeremyben@gmail.com; 646.457.2345

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ATTACHMENTS –

WRVU Petition Filed – July 5 Press Release: HERE.
Issued Petition to Deny – WRVU Friends and Family: HERE .
Declaration RS: HERE .
Declaration JH + Exhibits A to C : HERE .
Declaration AK + Exhibits A to H : HERE

READ ALL ABOUT IT ! –

WRVU in the News:

7/5/2012: The Nashville Scene – “WRVU Friends and Family Files Petition to Deny with FCC”
7/5/2012: Radio Survivor – “WRVU Supporters File Petition to Deny College Radio Station’s License Renewal”
7/5/2012: WSMV-TV Nashville – “Group Renews Fight to Save Vandy Student Radio”
7/6/2012: VU Today – “Vanderbilt in the News”

91.1 FM – ONE YEAR AGO TODAY

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Today, June 7th, 2012 marks ONE YEAR since Vanderbilt University’s beloved radio station WRVU 91.1 FM Nashville was abruptly silenced by Nashville Public Radio.

58 years of student broadcasting came to a sudden halt 2:45 PM CST when DJ Pete Wilson of Nashville Jumps was shuffled off the air by WPLN Engineer Carl Peterson for what he, and the other WRVU DJs, believed was “routine maintenance” on the transmitter. It would not be long, however, until the students were locked out of the studios and DJ HAL (the automated playlist) took over the airwaves for what would be the few remaining hours of 91 Rock.

At midnight June 8th, 2012, a classical music feed provided by Nashville Public Radio pushed its way onto the airwaves and Music City has not been the same since. In one final strike, a yearlong battle to save this cultural has historical landmark was silenced by a wall of smoke and mirrors while the students were far away from Nashville.

Today is a bittersweet celebration as we lament the current condition of 91.1 FM but celebrate the fact that THE SALE IS FAR from over. In a legal sense, it hasn’t even begun. While a contract to purchase the station has been made & VSC is currently leasing the frequency to Nashville Public Radio, 91.1 FM STILL BELONGS TO VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY.

SO WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Regardless of what you have been led to believe, no WRVU license transfer can occur without the above being successfully completed.

1. WPLN must raise $3.35 Million Dollars from its members & supporters. (JUST SAY “NO!”)

2. The Vanderbilt Board of Trust must approve of the sale of “Substantially All” the nonprofit assets of Vanderbilt Student Communications.

3. The Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr. must believe this sale and the conduct of the VSC serves the public interest.

4. The FCC must approve Transfer of Control from Vanderbilt to NPR.

We have many reasons to believe these things will not happen. As such, we have retained communications attorney’s Michael Couzens and Alan Korn to represent our case. We are confidant in their abilities as they have already done a fine job fighting for KUSF at the University of San Francisco. This is a national college radio crisis.

“The Wheels of Justice grind slowly, but exceedingly fine” has become our mantra.

This battle is only beginning & we are so thankful that all of you have kept the faith for so long. In the current edition of the Nashville Scene you will find the latest update on the situation by Music Editor Steve Harush.

Read article HERE

TAKE ACTION TODAY: TELL VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY AND NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO (WPLN) WHY YOU HAVE SUSPENDED YOUR GIFTS TO THEIR ORGANIZATIONS & WHY THEY SHOULD RETURN 91.1 FM TO THE STUDENTS WHO BUILT IT NEARLY 60 YEARS AGO.

Keep up the letter writing. VANDERBILT CHANCELLOR ZEPPOS and VANDERBILT BOARD OF TRUST are RESPONSIBLE for EVERYTHING that happens at VU.

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Email: nicholas.s.zeppos@Vanderbilt.Edu

* Nicholas Zeppos, Chancellor
* Vanderbilt University
* 211 Kirkland Hall
* Nashville, TN 37240
* (615) 322-1813

Vanderbilt University Board of Trust

* Office of the Board of Trust
* Vanderbilt University
* 305 Kirkland Hall
* Nashville, TN 37240

The same tactic might be used at WPLN and WPLN President Rob Gordon…

Email: rgordon@wpln.org

* Rob Gordon, President
* Nashville Public Radio/WPLN
* 630 Mainstream Drive
* Nashville, TN 37228
* (615) 322-1813

IN FACT, why don’t we FLOOD these guys with calls??? !!!

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

Contribute to the WRVU Friend and Family Fund. Donate. Get friends and family to donate. Go HERE to donate.

*All donations to the WRVU Friends & Family, a 501©3 organization, are 100% tax deductable to the extent allowed by law.

CHRIS CARROLL’S VULTURE VSC = DEAD AIR

VSC: VULTURE CULTURE

As you are aware, shameless vultures, aka the Chris Carroll led VSC, are in agreement with WPLN, Nashville Public Radio, with the primary purpose of wringing cash assets from the formally student-run and student-operated organization, WRVU. Why? To pay for Chris Carroll and his ‘adult’ staff salary bloat – a pathetic, VSC-led, petty cash-grab at the expense of a student-run asset serving the public. When there is a few bucks to skim, there is no level certain types will stoop to turn a quick buck, even if it is on the backs of students and the public good. The most galling part? The administration of a purported top-tier university such as Vanderbilt is watching dead-eyed as this embarrassing and shameful act has unfolded under their noses and on their own campus. [Psssst! Vanderbilt, void sale of WRVU! ]

Chris Carroll - VSC Vulture

SO WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Things seem to be quiet as of late. A little too quiet?

VSC and WPLN/WFCL are in a lease agreement only. That is to say, in order for the full license transfer to occur, several hurdles have to be overcome by the VSC and WPLN/WFCL.

1) WPLN/WFCL has to pay the VSC $3.5 million
2) Any license transfer requires an open FCC mandated 30 Day Public Comment period where Vanderbilt students and Nashville Community can comment on the travesty that is the sale of WRVU.

Regardless of what you have been led to believe, no WRVU license transfer can occur without the above being successfully completed.

It has been 9 months since the announced agreement and none of these hurdles have been met. This could mean that WPLN is having a tough time meeting the terms of the agreement, or it could mean that the VSC and WPLN are waiting for the outcry to dissipate.

One thing is certain:
The listening public and Vanderbilt students are taking the hit on this one.
-Vanderbilt student DJ involvement is down and ‘Dead Air’ is up [See below].
-The Vanderbilt/Nashville bond that WRVU provided is severed entirely thanks to Chris Carroll and his VSC.
-Much of WFCL, the classical music format station that is occupying WRVU’s 91.1 signal, is canned. Broadcasts are piped in from other NPR affiliates and NOT generated locally. How is this serving the public?
-Nearly a year into WFCL’s run, the listener-ship numbers have not been particularly impressive, further calling into question: How is this serving the public?
-The empty promises of the VSC remain largely unfulfilled.
-The VSC justifications for such an affront to all sense of common decency remain limp at best.

The proposed sale of WRVU to WPLN is not serving the benefit of anyone, least of all Vanderbilt students and the Nashville Community.

WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:

1) When this comment period begins, the Nashville community has the opportunity to comment on whether the transfer is good or bad for the affected community. This comment period could start tomorrow, or it could be this spring. Stay with us. We will let you know when it begins.

2) Contribute to the WRVU Friend and Family Fund. Donate. Get friends and family to donate. Go HERE to donate.

Why is this important? Although resistance to the, frankly, idiotic sale of WRVU has been loud and universal, we have no idea how the FCC will weigh their decision of granting the license transfer. License transfers such as this one proposed by the VSC are VERY Rare. Why? Because it is batshit stupid to sell off a priceless asset such as damn-near impossible to obtain asset such as WRVU’s on-air band width.

It is critical that YOU STAY WITH US, and yes, we are watching the situation very closely.

INSULT TO INJURY

Since the new “reboot” semester of WRVU, Chris Carroll can’t help but further turn the screws on those who might make the most of what remains left after the grave onslaught Chris Carroll has exacted on WRVU, a once proud and independent student organization.
1) The tie between the Nashville community and Vanderbilt students has been completely severed as Chris Carroll has unilaterally blocked community DJ applications. Most haven’t bothered reapplying since it is clear they are not welcomed.
2) WRVU is often ‘dead air’ (auto-rotation DJ HAL). [see below for more analysis]
3) Chris Carroll’s led VSC is doling out vague threats by mandating that “editorializing on air” (read: censoring student WRVU DJs) as a policy violation that “may result in permanent suspension”.
4) All student DJs must use a 24/7 “in-studio webcam and agree to be broadcast on the webcam video stream”. (read: Chris Carroll’s surveillance ‘Panoptic Prison’ to further stamp out whatever vestiges of independent thought and spirit are left in the participating students to guarantee a nice and docile ‘compliance’.

Yes, my pretties, Chris Carroll and the VSC are watching...

With the much reduced audience that WRVU has without an on-air license, you know that few are listening, but you are guaranteed that someone is always “watching”. Good times to be a student at Vanderbilt.

Mandatory surveillance? Vague mandates on ‘editorializing’? It is then no shocker that WRVU ‘dead air’ is up over 400% since WRVU has gone online only.

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY

The proposed sale of WRVU to WPLN is not serving anyone well, least of all Vanderbilt students and the Nashville Community. This sale can be stopped. That is why we need you to donate. Can you help bring WRVU back to the students and to Nashville? With your help, we can. If you think student/community radio is important, not just in Nashville, but everywhere, than you want to help save WRVU, if nothing else to send a signal to future vulture’s to say “Not so Fast!”. Please press this button.

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Here are the incredible tallies for ‘dead-air’ (DJ Hal) taken at a random date. These sort of numbers are typical of most other weeks. As of a typical week 10/28/11 at 3pm:
Sun: 1-10a, 11a-1p, 5-6p, 11p-12a (13 hours)
Mon: 12a-6a, 7a-12p, 3-4p, 8-9p, 11p-12a (14 hours)
Tu: 12-8a, 9a-12p, 1-2p, 4-5p, 11p-12a (14 hours)
Weds: 12a-1p, 3-4p, 8-9p, 11p-12a (16 hours)
Thu: 12a-6a, 8a-12p, 3-5p, 11p-12a (13 hours)
Fri: 12a-9a, 10-11a, 12a-2p (12 hours)
Sa: 12a-12p, 1-3p, 6-10p, 11p-12a (19 hours)
101 hours of automation (60% automation in a given week, daily range 50% to 79%)
The 79% is SATURDAY!!!! Unbelievable!

Here’s the most recent schedule I could find for comparison, Spring 2009
http://web.archive.org/web/20090226093935/http://wrvu.org/schedule.html
25 hours of automation in 1 week (14% automation)

Here’s the Spring 2001 schedule:
http://web.archive.org/web/200101240307/http://www.wrvu.org/schedule.html
27 hours off air, 21 of which was between 3-6am (16% off the air).

So there was a 7% decline in potential dead air from 2001-2009.

In the context of the sale of the station, between Spring 2009 and Fall 2011, there has been a 416% increase in dead air. As a point of reference, the notification of the limitation of community DJs was released November 11, 2009, presumably to begin Spring 2010.

But 416% is one hard number tough to argue against.

TAKE ACTION !

The proposed sale by the VSC of the WRVU broadcast license to WPLN is just 
plain wrong from the point of view of any reasonable ethical or moral 
standard. To the detriment of the student body they are supposed to be 
serving, they've sold away an asset with a rich legacy and proven 
educational benefit far beyond the money it would receive in return. 
They've done somaking a mockery of any semblance of procedure or concern 
for the stakeholders. The decision was taken unilaterally and the sale 
was done in secret to avoid interference from those who had the most at 
stake. To not call this out is to be complicit in the crime.  I believe 
there is a principle of justice at stake here.

Why is the cause to Save WRVU important?

One thing that can be learned form recent country-wide ‘occupy’ movements is a universal agreement to stem the rise in base and indefensible behavior. It is now time to push back!

Our demands are pretty simple and amazingly simple to enact.

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SaveWRVU Demands the Following:

1) Cancel License Sale and Return WRVU to the Students.
2) Chris Carroll. Must. Go.

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Simple.

1)Cancel License Sale and Return WRVU to the Students.

WRVU was a happily student-operated radio station for 50 years. Only recently, over the past 5 to 10 years, responsibilities and control of WRVU moved into the Troll-infested claws of (also recently hi-jacked) Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC). [Vanderbilt Student Communications is the entity that is charged to over-see all student media groups like the print, tv, and radio. Carroll started his shameful tenure at Vanderbilt by reconfiguring the VSC out of the hands of the students and into a group of like-minded adults and ‘at-large’ students, who, may have absolutely no experience with the member groups they are charged to protect. See FAQ for more.] Coincidentally (or not) this VSC power grab of WRVU has occurred exclusively during the tenure of Chris Carroll as VSC Media Adviser, which brings us to demand number 2…

Chris Carroll

2) Chris Carroll. Must. Go.

Chris Carroll, Media Adviser of the VSC, along with fellow Toad, Mark Wollaeger, is largely responsible for all that has gone wrong with WRVU. Chris Carroll has morphed the VSC into his own image, a vampire squid that has wrapped around the face of WRVU relentlessly jamming his engorged funnel into WRVU to extract its cash and soul, leaving nothing but a hollow lifeless shell. Even more maddeningly, this pathetic cash-grab is only to fund Carroll’s and other ‘adult’ (i.e. unnecessary) adviser salaries. The salary outlay before Chris Carroll became Media Adviser of VSC? $40k. The current salary outlay of VSC under Carroll’s stewardship? $450k + !?! WRVU is being sold off to pay for VSC’s unnecessary salary bloat. Plain. And. Simple.

Now, we at SaveWRVU would readily admit that if the poaching of WRVU’s cash assets to feed VSC recent salary bloat somehow provided some benefit to the other student media groups, perhaps we might back-off our calls to right this egregious wrong, but the best that the VSC can come up with is … wait for it…. HDTV for VTV. HDTV? You are kidding, right?

Undoubtedly, the self-styled media maven that is Chris Carroll is lording over the other media groups including the umbrella online vehicle that is InsideVandy. The snooze-fest layout and vanilla site-design screams Carroll meddling, particularly, when the comment section to WRVU related OpEd pieces seem to filter out responses critical of the sale, yet, seem wide open to spam attacks. InsideVandy and the rest of the VSC media groups are being creatively stifled to keep student intellectual and creative input to a minimum. This theory bares out since there have been an eye-brow raising uptick in resignations, across numerous member media groups, since Carroll started as Media Adviser. Before Carroll’s involvement, student resignations were unheard of. Under Carroll’s watch, resignations are rampant. Maybe this is how Vanderbilt wants its student media to be: Safe. Vanilla. Boring. If so, Chris Carroll is your man, but these are the opposite traits you would advocate coming from a top tier University. One thing is certain. Whatever good (and there is some: HERE and HERE ) does come out of VSC member media groups, it is done in spite of, not because of, the input of Chris Carroll. Hence, Carrol. Must. Go.

Despite the wreckage Carroll’s decade-long campaign has wrought, his zeal to crush WRVU continues to this day. As noted earlier, Chris Carroll is currently unilaterally setting up new petty rules and overtly denying DJ spots to former popular DJs of long running shows because these former WRVU DJs did not act sufficiently submissive during the Carroll led campaign to sell-out WRVU.

Vanderbilt University has a lot to answer for itself for letting Chris Carroll behave with unchecked impunity.

For starters, Carroll’s behavior is working counter to the University’s own interests. Any fool knows you don’t sell an asset you can’t replace. Chris Carroll is not your ordinary fool. Vanderbilt University should be the first to know that WRVU is a valuable University asset founded and operated by Vanderbilt Students. It is not Chris Carroll’s asset to sell.

Questions we want Vanderbilt University to ask itself:

How does secretly selling off valuable assets promote education?

Doesn’t the circumvention of regular procedure by a staff member betray the trust placed in that person by the students and the University?

Doesn’t the backhanded and secretive nature of the transaction confirmation that Chris Carroll believes, in any case, that no consensus for the sale of the license would have been found in an open process?

What authority does Chris Carroll have to unilaterally sell of such a valuable educational asset?

Isn’t Chris Carroll’s behavior a breach of trust which is grounds for immediate dismissal?

Is Vanderbilt University an institution for higher learning or a stomping ground for petty tyrants?

Why does the VSC need seven paid staff members, which account for the lion’s share of the budget?

Shouldn’t control of the VSC reside with the students with representation from all of the involved organizations?

I’m sure you can think of others. Call every day. Don’t stop.

What Can You Do Now?

For starters, what we need more than anything right now is the patience, the support, and the confidence of Music City, U.S.A. This battle for 91.1 FM will be long and intense but, we believe, VERY worthwhile.

GET VOCAL WRVU!!! Let WPLN and Vanderbilt University know that this frequency sale is a terrible idea that has spun out of control. DEMAND that they retract the agreement.

Keep up the letter writing. VANDERBILT CHANCELLOR ZEPPOS and VANDERBILT
BOARD OF TRUST are RESPONSIBLE for EVERYTHING that happens at VU.

---

Email: nicholas.s.zeppos@Vanderbilt.Edu

* Office of the Chancellor
* Vanderbilt University
* 211 Kirkland Hall
* Nashville, TN 37240

Vanderbilt University Board of Trust

* Office of the Board of Trust
* Vanderbilt University
* 305 Kirkland Hall
* Nashville, TN 37240

The same tactic might be used at WPLN and WPLN President Rob Gordon…

Email: rgordon@wpln.org

* Rob Gordon, President
* Nashville Public Radio/WPLN
* 630 Mainstream Drive
* Nashville, TN 37228

---

If you are Vanderbilt Alumni, Donate a ‘Goose Egg’!

Make a $0.00 donation to Vanderbilt and tell them why. Go to
www.PledgeNothing.com
to catalog your ‘goose egg’ pledge until Vanderbilt rights this egregious wrong.

…And boycott WPLN and WFCL until the frequency is returned to the students of Vanderbilt University!

VIVA WRVU!

NOT OVER YET…

VIVA WRVU!:

Remember, 91.1 FM frequency sale HAS NOT HAPPENED YET and it is still possible to SAVE WRVU!

The wheels of injustice caused by a Carroll-led VSC are beginning to grind and reverse. Pressure is mounting on several fronts.

There are MANY positive developments to report:

1) !VIVA WRVU! HAS LAUNCHED!:

VivaWRVU is the banner for which WRVU Friends and Family, the organization leading the charge to stop the frequency sale, will use to bring back WRVU from the ashes. Be sure to visit VivaWRVU.org to donate and get involved!

What we need more than anything right now is the patience, the support, and the confidence of Music City, U.S.A. This battle for 91.1 FM will be long and intense but, we believe, VERY worthwhile.

VIVA WRVU!

2) GOOSE EGGS!:

The Vanderbilt Administration continue to get the message via alumni donors. Recent alumni fund drives are coming up with a pile of ‘goose-eggs’ for donations. Alumni donation participation is critical for Vanderbilt maintaining its recent uptick in college polls like US News and World Report. The past and current antics of Chris Carroll and the VSC continue to embarrass Vanderbilt University and will hurt the university where it hurts most, in the rankings. One such disgusted alumnus has set up a brilliant means to post your disapproval with Vanderbilt University for allowing the VSC proposed WRVU frequency sale. Go to
www.PledgeNothing.Org
to catalog your ‘goose egg’ pledge until Vanderbilt rights this egregious wrong. Here is one anecdotal example SaveWRVU has heard: ‘I was called by one of the Vandy undergrad donation solicitors two nights ago and let him know that I’m pledging $0.00 until they put WRVU back on the air. I bring this up because he then said “Yeah, I’ve talked to a number of people who are doing that. I think the University really screwed up on that.” My answer: “Yep.”.’

It goes without saying the above ‘goose egg’ pledge goes double for WPLN!

3) VSC SPIN CAMPAIGN NOT WORKING!:

Nashville Public Radio has not yet met the obligations agreed to execute the sale (namely, paying for it) and the Federal Communication Commission has not announced a public comment period nor have they approved the sale. Simply put, if WPLN can not come up with the money, the deal is off. See number 2 above!

The VSC and Vanderbilt controlled media outlets are icing out the fact that the proposed sale of 91.1 is proposed only, and are printing that the sale is already consummated. WRVU Friends and Family representatives have recently written InsideVandy, Vanderbilt Magazine, Dot Commodore, and Vanderbilt Hustler asking them to hold up the tenants of good journalism and report that the sale is proposed only and that a large and growing organization is out there actively preventing the sale. At best, these letters have received a cursory response. At worst, they have been outright rejected.

Despite these misleading articles and their refusal to print letters that highlight the facts, the truth is still getting out. There are indeed students, alumni, and members of the Vanderbilt Community who refuse to accept the patent falsehood that the frequency is gone.

This is NOT over and everyone deserves to know.

While there are times we may disagree with the choices made by the InsideVandy / Hustler editors, there are many times we commend them for the willingness to take a stand on important issues. One such example can be found HERE .

Loyal Fans and Listeners of WRVU, the battle for 91.1 FM continues . . .

JOIN WRVU FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

TROLLS GONE WILD

TROLL-IN-CHIEF CARROLL LORDS OVER ‘NEW’ WRVU

Chris Carroll. Please. Go. Away.

CENSORSHIP BY PRIOR RESTRAINT

As noted earlier, Carroll and the Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) – wholly deprived of representatives of WRVU – continues to have an overbearing role over what is now, in name only, a student run organization. Carroll has made it a career at Vanderbilt to wrest control of basic responsibilities out of student hands and, now, continues unabated, with a new string shameful deeds as the neutered new WRVU starts its ‘reboot’ semester. The latest Carroll dictate is making sure that DJs, who rightly aired grievances with the recent deplorable actions of the VSC and its dishonest handling of the proposed sale of WRVU over the past year, be subjected to an unprecedented VSC ‘screening’ process. Troll-in-chief, Chris Carroll, unsurprisingly, is rejecting applications of DJs who have not proved sufficiently submissive through the recent Carroll-led attempts at poaching of WRVU to pay for Carroll and VSC ‘adult’ salary bloat.

A letter the editor from one such victim, a 10+ year WRVU DJ of a long-running highly popular show and current Vanderbilt Staff Member wrote the following:

VSC REVOKES VU STAFF MEMBER'S DJ PRIVILEGES
[...]

[...] my application to do a show this fall was rejected by Student 
Media Adviser Chris Carroll (acting alone). When I discussed this with 
him, I was told he thought I’d be 'toxic' at WRVU because I had often 
stated publicly that an online-only WRVU would be a poor substitute for 
an FM station and thus the sale was a bad idea. He claimed I would 
badmouth the station and poison student morale. (I’m an alumnus and a 
VU staff member. Before turning in show applications, we’d been told 
that VU-affiliated non-students’ applications would merely 
be 'reviewed' by VSC and did not need 'approval.')


I said that when I decided to do a show again, I determined to 
do what I could to improve WRVU in its new form. Why would I sign up if 
I wanted to sabotage WRVU? I promised not to 'editorialize' while working, 
and suggested that at the first questionable syllable they could can me. 
I pointed out that no WRVU staffer had expressed resentment of my 
comments — we’d been on the same side. None of this made a difference. I 
think Carroll just doesn’t want me to have any chance to state my 
opinions publicly. This seems a clear example of censorship by 
prior restraint.


It was also clear that Carroll was retaliating against me 
for opposing VSC.  He claimed that giving me a show would be like 
inviting someone to your house for dinner after he had insulted you. 
[...]


Carroll said that he would rather run automation, which 
currently fills much of the schedule, than give a show to someone 
whom he sees as a potential troublemaker. This was not the will 
of the station staff. General Manager Robert Ackley enthusiastically 
invited my continued participation and that of the two other rejectees 
(for whom I do not speak here, by the way). [...]

I believe Student Media Adviser Carroll is imposing his 
will on the station for reasons of censorship and retaliation 
(against me in this case). I feel I’ve been wronged, but I 
write also because I think Carroll is behaving unethically to 
disempower opposition to the license sale — which by the way 
is not yet complete — and establish greater control over WRVU. 
Once again VSC makes clear that the interests of WRVU and 
its student staff are not a priority.

Does this mean students shouldn’t support WRVU? Of course not.  
It’s more important now than ever. WRVU is still a golden 
opportunity for students and a part of Nashville culture, whether 
on the airwaves or not. Keep your eye out for ways to show your 
support, and become a DJ yourself — it’s your right as a student, 
and fun as hell.  This is a crucial moment and you can be a 
part of it.

Read full letter HERE. Related article in InsideVandy can be read HERE .

Note that this letter to the editor is posted on InsideVandy also under Carroll’s purview and unsurprisingly, readers have found it difficult to get their responses to show in the comments section. Hmmmmmmmm.

Better yet, it is advised to check out the excellent coverage provided by the Nashville Scene. They have a comments section that actually works! See Nashville Scene article HERE .

The real shocker is that this Troll overlord is operating unfettered, at the obvious expense of the students, with full complicity with the Vanderbilt administration, who ostensibly should be functioning on behalf of the students and keeping a check on these ‘adult’ trolls gone wild.

ARE THERE BIGGER FORCES AT PLAY?!?

A great in-depth report on the PRC, strip-miner of college radio, can be found HERE in the invaluable blog Keeping the Public in Public Radio. In the article, WRVU’s case is highlighted as being the latest in a string of ‘serial killings’.

A must read: Public Radio Capital: Money From the Sky

WIKI-WARS

TOADS AT PLAY

Carroll and Wollaeger

We at SaveWRVU received notice of the following entry placed on the WFCL Wikipedia page:

'From 1971 to June 7, 2011, the 91.1 FM frequency was occupied by 
Vanderbilt University’s WRVU, a college radio station. The University’s 
student communications division made the decision to sell the station 
because of poor student participation and interest in WRVU. Nashville 
Public Radio, which had long been exploring the possibility of making 
WPLN-FM a full-time news and talk outlet, decided to purchase WRVU in 
order to air the station’s classical music library, offering area 
listeners a choice of formats.'

We all know that the two greasy toads largely responsible for the attempted dismantling of WRVU, Chris Carroll and Mark Wollaeger, are masters of playing fast and loose with the truth. This sort of wiki-nonsense has Carroll and Wollaeger written all over it and could be yet another example of the two toads attempting to whitewash the truth. The fact is, student interest in WRVU, at the time Wollaeger and Carroll decided to poach it for cash, had never been higher, with large student interest and an unprecedented large class of new trainees. Wollaeger was privy to these facts of high student interest at his announcement of the VSC’s decision to pursue offers to buy WRVU’s on-air license.

THE VSC TOAD SQUAD STRIKES

This will not come as a shocker to anyone, but the new-and-diluted WRVU has gone through the DJ selection process, which, and this will come to a real shocker to those who are used to the “transparency” of the VSC, that some former WRVU DJs most vocal about trying to protect WRVU from the ignominious sale, didn’t have their applications accepted and were unceremoniously iced out of the the mail listserve and the station. Explanations given by the VSC? None. Once again, the VSC strains to break the back of what once was (but will soon will be again!) venerable student (not adult toad) run organization. These VSC toads continue to bring shame and embarrassment to the ideals and educational mission of Vanderbilt University.

ARE THERE BIGGER FORCES AT PLAY?!?

A theory that is gaining traction is that there is an entity prowling out there that is systematically lopping off college radio stations for cash. Recent closures of numerous college radio stations like KUSF, KTRU, WDUQ, and others all bear the all-to similar fingerprints of a trained serial killer. That killer now has a name: Public Radio Capital (PRC). Members of PRC seem to mysteriously crop up in and around the decisions of nearly all college radio closures that have occurred over the past few years. Guess what? It appears that one of these PRC toads is involved in the closure of WRVU. William King of the PRC is a board member of WPLN, the buyer in agreement with the VSC to purchase WRVU’s on-air signal. The PRC seem to operate in much the same manner as a bottom feeding West Virgina coal strip mining company – The PRC take public beloved resources/institutions like college radio and concoct lucrative back-door deals, either as buyer, or, as facilitator, and secretively poach these public institutions for cash in such a way that the unsuspecting public is robbed and left with PRC desolation before anyone realizes what has happened. The PRC strip-mine public institutions like WRVU for cash.

A great in-depth report on the PRC, strip-miner of college radio, can be found HERE in the invaluable blog Keeping the Public in Public Radio. In the article, WRVU’s case is highlighted as being the latest in a string of ‘serial killings’.

A must read: Public Radio Capital: Money From the Sky

VANDERBILT FINALLY RESPONDS

VICE CHANCELLOR RESPONDS TO WRVU FRIENDS AND FAMILY:

Below is a letter written by Vice Chancellor Williams of Vanderbilt University. As one might expect, numerous requests have been made, dating back to September of last year, to Vanderbilt’s Chancellor office to step in and stop, or, as a minimum, oversee what is the wonton and unnecessary dismantling of Vanderbilt’s largest student-founded and 50-year continuously student-operated organization. This letter, a long awaited response to a letter sent by WRVU Friends and Family, marks the first official response emanating from the Chancellor’s office of Vanderbilt despite these numerous requests that Vanderbilt clarify their position. Unfortunately, this response is not particularly awe inspiring on any level.

Ironically, Williams himself enjoyed the opportunity that WRVU provided by hosting as a DJ the Vice Chancellor Show. As a recent (and now former) WRVU DJ, Vice Chancellor Williams should, therefore, know enough to put together an informed and intelligent response to address at least some of the many valid arguments that the sale of WRVU to WPLN is unnecessary, an unequivocal bad deal for Vanderbilt Students, not to mention a needless blow to the good-will between Vanderbilt and the Nashville community. No such luck. This letter largely regurgitates the very disputable brain-dead talking points floated by Wollaeger and Carroll – the two largely responsible for this travesty in the works.

Furthermore, Williams must know that HD access is a sad joke and no replacement for on-air broadcast. For starters, will Williams waste his time broadcasting his ex-WRVU show on a moribund HD3 digital channel? We thinks not and neither will most Vanderbilt students.

Read Vice Chancellor Williams response below:

APPALLING INACTION OF THE GOOD

"The problems today are not the the evil actions of the bad people, but 
the appalling silence and inaction of the good people. "
---Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Three Primary Decision Makers Most Responsible for the Fate of WRVU:

The Good ?!?:
Vanderbilt University Chancellor and Board of Trust and,
The Bad:
Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC),
The Ugly:
WPLN – the agency that is in agreement to purchase WRVU.

Vanderbilt/WPLN: Void the Sale of WRVU!

Despite the shameless public wide-eyed hand-wringing from Mark Wollaeger and Chris Carroll – the primary people who pushed for the WRVU license sale on behalf of Vanderbilt Student Communications – we here suspected that these two ‘adults’, of what is supposed to be a student run organization, were secretly advancing a sale deal behind closed doors. Recent revelations of the timing of events have confirmed this to indeed to be the case.

The recent hateful result – the pawning off of WRVU for cash – is simply one that we now have come to expect to come out of an organization led by Mark Wollaeger and Chris Carroll. What remains the most galling, is the silence and inaction of the good – Vanderbilt University and its Board of Trust, for passively letting these two ‘adult’ fools unilaterally attempt to destroy a much revered and storied student-run organization despite the mountains of protestations from all corners.

As you are well aware, all reasonable appeals to The VSC ended up falling on deaf ears. Efforts are to be directed to the other two players: Vanderbilt University (via Chancellor and Board of Trust) and Nashville NPR affiliate, WPLN (buyer in tentative agreement).

Even though the criminal poaching of WRVU by Wollaeger and Carroll of the VSC has been public for several months, there has been a conspicuous silence from The Chancellor and the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University. Unless they are outrageously incompetent, they are fully aware of the shameful deeds exacted by recent actions of the VSC. In many ways, Vanderbilt’s cowardly non-stance is almost more disappointing as the appalling treatment of WRVU by the VSC. As such, pressure must be applied to Vanderbilt to step up, and do the right thing – get WRVU back to the students, where it belongs.

HERE ARE THREE ACTIONS TO APPLY RIGHT NOW!

WRITE/CALL CHANCELLOR ZEPPOS and VANDERBILT BOARD OF TRUST!

See an actual recent excellent example of a letter written to Chancellor Zeppos below.

Hello,
 I would like to officially state that based on how the university has
 handled the closing of 91.1, I have NO intention of ever donating to
 Vanderbilt again. I think the actions of the VSC were completely
 counter to the educational mission of the institution and served to
 disenfranchise students, who should be learning to develop an
 autonomous voice. I also think that Chancellor Zeppos’ refusal to
 admit that the actions of the VSC were a Vanderbilt issue was
 completely disingenuous and again completely counter to setting an
 example for how young adults should conduct themselves.

Sincerely,
Deborah

Click HERE to get started on where to direct your own letter/email.

COPY YOUR LETTER/EMAIL TO US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT!

Copy your letter to college ranking department of US News and World Report to show the influential rank makers that Vanderbilt University is forfeiting a key student benefit that should be taken into consideration in its ranking formulations. (Note: Most of the higher ranked peers of Vanderbilt have the sense to maintain their student-run radio stations.)

PLEDGE NOTHING!

Are you looking for an excuse to not feel compelled to donate to Vanderbilt University or to WPLN? Here is your excuse. Both institutions, normally worthy of giving, are complicit in the current attempted destruction of WRVU.

Go to Pledge Nothing Web Site.

Don’t donate to Vanderbilt University or to WPLN and tell them why you will continue not to give them money until they right this wrong.

www.PledgeNothing.org.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FRIEND OF WRVU!!!

As you all have likely heard by now, WRVU has many reasons to celebrate!

First of all, it appears that the sale of WRVU to Nashville Public Radio has a LONG way to go until it becomes final. We know, of course, that WPLN must raise $3.35 million dollars in the next 18 months to purchase the station. Attached is a letter from Joe Helm J.D., former WRVU General Manager, that proves Vanderbilt University is the sole “member” of the VSC. Because the 91.1 FM frequency is “substantially all” of the VSC assets (see Mark Wolleager podcast HERE) the Chancellor or the Board of Trust will be required to sign off on the deal. If they do not, of course, the whole thing is off the table.

For full explanation, be sure to see this article in Nashville Scene HERE.

So PLEASE keep the pressure on Kirkland Hall! If you haven’t written a letter to the Chancellor yet – GET ON IT! If you have written before, please WRITE AGAIN. Don’t be afraid to let Zeppos know that you are aware of his role in this saga and of his power to bring it to an end. He has been shamefully ignoring Vanderbilt students and alumni who have been pleading for his help since September. It is time he took a stand.

A PRECEDENT HAS ALREADY BEEN SET!

Jennifer Waits of Radio Survivor has recently sent this information regarding WWPV, the student run station belonging to St. Michael’s college:

In March 2007, WWPV attracted local attention when Vermont Public Radio approached the college’s president, Marc vanderHeyden, and the Board of Trustees with an interest in purchasing the frequency to turn it into a 24-hour classical station.[1] After word of this potential sale became public in the Burlington Free Press and the St. Michael’s online magazine, The Echo, SMC students, faculty, and staff rallied against the sale in an effort to preserve the station as a student-run, freeform college station. Numerous letters were written to the Free Press, [2], posters were put up around campus, and a large Facebook group was created to mobilize students. Because of the outcry, vanderHeyden recommended to the board that the station not be sold, effectively ending the possibility of a deal.[3] Vermont Public Radio instead bought 90.9 FM, now known as WOXR, to run the classical format.

IT CAN HAPPEN IN NASHVILLE!
WPLN CAN FIND ANOTHER FREQUENCY FOR THEIR CLASSICAL PROGRAMMING!

WPLN MET WITH BOOS!

According to sources who attended a live recording of the Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me radio show last week at TPAC, Nashville Public Radio President Rob Gordon was booed off stage when he mentioned “our new classical station, WFCL” !!!

Way to Go Nashville!!! Then, apparently, Gordon shrugged and said “”Yeah, well, we’ll see how it goes.” WPLN must not have realized the huge overlap in WRVU and NPR listeners. No one is happy about sacrificing one station to feed the other. Enough public outcry & again, Rob Gordon can bring this shenanigan to an END!

Again, please remind your friends & neighbors to boycott WPLN, WFCL and all their affiliated stations. Until they release our frequency, do your best to screw up WPLN’s Arbitron ratings and their membership drives. Also, please stay vocal on the Nashville Pubic Radio facebook page. Perhaps one day, within the next 18 months, they will wake up and realize that purchasing 91.1 FM is a very bad idea!

SISTER STATION, KUSF UPDATE!

In other good news, our sister station KUSF is having some success in their struggle as well. The FCC is concerned about the USF/CPRN lease-purchase agreement, which questions many variables including the educational value the new classical format. You are encouraged to read more HERE about the situation via the link below and look for items that sound familiar.

CONTINUE TO SUPPORT WRVU FRIENDS & FAMILY

WRVU Friends & Family has been working with a strong legal team to develop the most effective strategy for getting the station you love back on the air. Those individuals who were once skeptical now believe we have much more than a fighting chance! We welcome your thoughts and comments in the weeks and months to come. As this is likely to be a prolonged battle. To win, we must keep the moral high. Please continue to get the word out that this IS NOT OVER. With your support and encouragement, and that of the Nashville community, WRVU can rise again!!!!! (& just imagine what a story that will be…)

CRUNCH TIME!

Supporters of WRVU,

Despite the strange sounds emanating from 91.1 FM . . .WRVU-FM is NOT DEAD YET!!!

Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) has entered a lease-purchase agreement with WPLN 90.5 FM Nashville, a National Public Radio affiliate. In May of 2011, the VSC administration filed paperwork with the FCC to change the call letters from WRVU to WFCL. As you may know, this change became official on June 1, 2011. WRVU DJs did not become aware of this change until June 6, 2011.

For six days, the WRVU DJs announced the improper legal I.D. It was a serious failure and federal infringement on the part of the VSC that the students were not made aware of the call letter change.

Although talks of a frequency sale have been going on for months now, the VSC effectively lied to the students of WRVU assuring them that no sale was imminent and that no major decisions were being made concerning the frequency sale.

When the call letter change was brought to the attention of WRVU Friends & Family by Kodi McKinney, a reporter from CMJ, General Manager Robert Ackley approached the VSC for more information. After some delay, the VSC finally admitted that had reached an agreement with WPLN.

On Tuesday, June 7th, WRVU sang out loud and clear. Don Troop, reporter from the Chronicle of Higher Education listened from afar. Of Pete Wilson’s final show he said, “It was a playlist for the End of Times”.

Those of you who listened heard Pete say several times during his program that the station would be shutdown at 2:30 for some regular station maintenance. “Not to worry” Pete told his worried listeners, “we will be right back On the Air”. Pete left the WRVU in the hands of the station engineers and just a few hours later the DJs realized they were locked out of the station.

DJs are currently unable to access the station or the online stream, According to VSC Chair Mark Wollaeger, “Angry, Frustrated people and open mics over the airwaves is a Volatile, Dangerous mixture.”

Reactions to WRVU Sale

Ackley

Wollaeger

This video shows a notable juxtaposition: WRVU’s General Manager Robert Ackley, representing all the best that you would expect from a Vanderbilt Student – intelligent and articulate vs. the doughy, smug blathering of Mark Wollaeger, one of two ‘adults’ largely responsible for killing WRVU. In this video, Wollaeger gives half-baked half-truths rationalizing his indefensible poaching of WRVU. Ackley, on the other hand, does an admiral job of containing his disgust with the circus sham that is the recent events involving WRVU. It is a bit hard to watch. It needs to be seen, nonetheless, if nothing else to put a face to this VSC monster. See video HERE.

In what world is it allowed for something like Wollaeger to unilaterally upend a beloved student organization like WRVU? The answer? Vanderbilt University, evidently. For this sort of behavior – double-talk and deception – to go utterly unchecked at an institution like Vanderbilt, well, it is a c r u s h i n g disappointment. Is Wollaeger’s drivel, as shown here in this interview, all that is needed to pass as justification for poaching a 60 year old Nashville institution?

Vanderbilt, in being complicit with this dubious transaction, is violating everything they claim to stand for. Sad. Pathetic. Disappointing. These are words that come to mind to all of us who have come to expect better.

******************************

THE DEAL

According to the Tennessean, WPLN has 18 months to come up with 3.35 million dollars. WLPN intends to run a pledge drive to raise these funds. WPLN aired an audio report by Kim Green on June 9th that referenced WPLN President Rob Gordon,

“Gordon says . . . WPLN can’t just write a 3.3 million dollar check to purchase WRVU. The station’s making a down payment and planning a capital campaign to pay off the balance in the next eighteen months. During that time WPLN will apply for an FCC license transfer.”

WRVU Sale Creates Static: See WPLN.org

******************************

THE HOPE

Provided WPLN can actually raise the 3.35 million to purchase 91.1 FM, they will have to propose the change of ownership to the FCC. At this point, the public will have 30 days to formally object to the transfer of control We, at the WRVU Friends & Family intend to fight this transfer every step of the way!!! We are up against a formidable enemy but we with your help we are strong too. The time is NOW to STAND UP for your frequency!

The VSC has been secretive, underhanded, and dirty throughout this game and now they have hung us out to dry. WRVU 91.1 FM belongs to YOU, the DJs of WRVU and the students of Vanderbilt University. FIGHT FOR IT, it is NOT too LATE to get it back!!!

Keep up the letter writing. Vanderbilt Chancellor Zeppos and the Vanderbilt Board of Trust are RESPONSIBLE for EVERYTHING that happens at VU. Do not let them get out of this mess unscathed.

WHO TO LOBBY

Keep up the pressure and put your money where your mouth is… Let Vanderbilt know this will effect your giving. Promise to donate
generously if WRVU is saved, promise to pledge nothing if it is not.

The same tactic might be used at WPLN~

Rob Gordon, President and General Manager
Nashville Public Radio
630 Mainstream Drive
Nashville, TN 37228
(615) 760-2020 x222
http://wpln.org/

GET VOCAL WRVU!!! Let WPLN and Vanderbilt University know that this frequency sale is a terrible idea that has spun out of control. DEMAND that they retract the agreement and PROVE that WRVU can arise from the ashes.

VSC ‘ADULTS’ CONTINUE TO EMBARRASS VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

Well, it ain’t Truthin’…

One of the main purposes of this website is to simply archive all of the information surrounding the proposed Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) sale of WRVU so everyone can have access to the facts.

What makes the recent events so galling to so many, is that this license sale is not the work of a group of students, but largely rammed through by two ‘adults’: Chris Carroll (VSC Media Adviser), and Mark Wollaeger (VSC Chair). Note that you will be hard pressed to find any public statement without one of these two as the source. To legitimize selling-off a student asset, the VSC was recently reconfigured under the direction of Chris Carroll, such that a VSC Board could ‘vote one of its members off the island’ without that member having a vote or representation – or simply, the VSC and the student control of WRVU was hijacked by a few ‘adults’ that were entrusted to protect WRVU. This new VSC and their growing paid adult staff have strong-armed control away from the students and into paid ‘professional’ (and expensive) hands. Unsurprisingly, this adult bloat adds a crushing financial burden in unnecessary staff salaries on formally largely self-sustaining student organizations.

A natural outcome of this ‘adult’ take-over of a student-run VSC is this cash-out of VSC’s sole valuable asset, WRVU, which you will notice has two, and only two, vocal proponents in Mark Wollaeger and Chris Carroll. Other than the insipid comments of student Justin Tardiff, there has been little to no vocal support of this sale idea from ANYONE. Yet, against the avalanche of protests and complaints opposing the sale, Wollaegher and Carroll clearly have been actively conducting the sale, all the while, at the same time stiff arming students out of the process.

Numerous efforts in all manners have been attempted to get the VSC to provide more information, to answer direct questions, and to consider better options. Some of these attempts are included here in this site. The record shows that these attempts and student concerns where routinely ignored by the self-anointed masters of WRVU, Carroll and Wollaeger, who, it turns out, are, evidently, the only people who’s opinion matters. WRVU staff members were repeatedly denied entrance to VSC meetings, direct questions were provided uselessly evasive answers, and letters were never answered.

Take the following quotes from Chris Carroll in the recent June 8 Student Press Law Center article:.

[...] For Carroll, though, the decision-making process has 
been 'more open and public than any I’ve heard of before.' '

We wanted just the opposite of secrecy,' he said. 'Anyone who 
asked [VSC] any questions was given an answer. We could not 
have been more visible and accessible.' 

Apart from a formal discussion with WRVU supporters at an 
October board meeting, Carroll said VSC has never been 
presented with any 'legitimate' feedback. 

'There were a lot of people who said ‘don’t take away my 
radio station,’ but there weren’t any who presented a viable 
solution,' he said. 'The reality is that, in nine months 
since our initial announcement, there have been no attempts 
to communicate with the board.' 

Most attempts to advocate for WRVU, Carroll added, have been 
directed toward the university’s administration, which he said 
is not the legal license holder of the station.
 

Each sentence by Carroll above strays heavily from ‘truthin”.

1) ‘For Carroll, though, the decision-making process has been more open and public than any I’ve heard of before.’
The glaring omission here, of course, is that the bar is set very low due to the despicable ways that college radio (see KTRU and WUSF) has been treated as of late. With the bar set so low, it is easy to show improvement, but, alas, Wollaeger and Carroll have found a way to trip over it.

By using ‘at least I am less evil than Hitler’ type logic you can say that that he and Wollaeger are indeed ‘more open and public’ than the public relations disasters that are the University’s actions in regard to KTRU and WUSF. The truth is, that Wollaeger and Carroll employed the exact same deceptive methods as these shameful other examples, but with the added benefit of a public display of doe-eyed hand-wringing. Bravo.

2) ‘We wanted just the opposite of secrecy,’ he said. ‘Anyone who asked [VSC] any questions was given an answer. We could not have been more visible and accessible.’

There might be some truth to the above statement, if you are grading on a heavy curve. Wollaeger and Carroll provided half-truths, promised follow-up that never came, and otherwise stonewalled any intelligent discourse. For starters, the following letter sent to Carroll never received acknowledgement, much less a response. You can listen to Wollaeger provide a series of empty promises that were never followed up on here

3) Apart from a formal discussion with WRVU supporters at an October board meeting, Carroll said VSC has never been presented with any “legitimate” feedback.

This is a bald assertion. The following are some of the opinions Carroll deems not ‘legitmate’:

*The Nashville Community and Vanderbilt Students: The VSC has admitted that they have received well over 600 letters (a small sampling HERE) all against the sale of WRVU along with a petition against the sale signed by over 2000 Vanderbilt Students.
*Former VSC Board Members: The VSC received 2 letters (see Sept 27 and Oct 4 entries in Timeline) from alumni with combined over 136 years of WRVU dj experience and 28 years of combined VSC Board experience.
*Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music: A letter was sent to the VSC from 21 faculty members and deans of Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music as well (see HERE).
*Vanderbilt Music Fraternity: A letter Vanderbilt’s Music Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha
*International and Local Artists: Peter Guralnick, Chuck D (Public Enemy), and many others. HERE for more.
*Industry Leaders of TV, Radio, and Digital Media.

Wollaeger and Carroll provided no acknowledgement of receipt and certainly no intelligent response. We also know that the VSC has received letters from internationally known titans of TV, radio, print, and digital media who got their formative experience at WRVU, that illustrated the importance of WRVU very clearly, but the geniuses at the VSC couldn’t be bothered. The arrogance and abusive attitudes of these ‘super-geniuses’ were even openly mocked in Vanderbilt’s humor magazine, The Slant (see here).

4) ‘There were a lot of people who said ‘don’t take away my radio station,’ but there weren’t any who presented a viable solution,’ he said. ‘The reality is that, in nine months since our initial announcement, there have been no attempts to communicate with the board.’

How is this for a viable solution?
Return WRVU and VSC BACK to the students, where it belongs! We at SaveWRVU know that the real drive for the poaching of WRVU is financial, and a major motivator is the bloat associated with the growing paid VSC staff. An endowment created by the WRVU license sale is simply a means of sustaining an ever-increasing professional (i.e., non-student) and utterly unnecessary VSC staff – not to protect student media into the future, as Wollaegher and Carroll contend. Do the math: At 5% yearly return on this $3.35M sale price the annual $170k endowment is considerably less than the recently added annual ‘professional’ salary outlays.

You want a solutions? Revert the VSC and associated media groups back to the students and you will save more per year than you will gain from this wretched license sale and killing a treasured student organization. Again, go HERE for thorough reasoning against the license sale.

5) Most attempts to advocate for WRVU, Carroll added, have been directed toward the university’s administration, which he said is not the legal license holder of the station.

We must admit, there is a smidgen of truth to this. It became clear to any reasonable person that the VSC had their minds made up and held a contemptible position to the value of WRVU and held added contempt to its supporters. What is someone to do if they want their voice heard and find themselves being stonewalled by the VSC? They go to the Vanderbilt administration.

To say that Vanderbilt University has no say in this is also false. WRVU and the VSC is funded by student-paid activity fees. Vanderbilt remains the owner of WRVU and must sign-off on any transfer per FCC guidelines. It is no accident that WRVU stands for We aRe Vanderbilt University.

These series of quotes from Carrol as indicated above are a microcosm of Chris Carroll and Mark Wollaegers, VSC’s spokespeople pushing the WRVU sale, in dealing with this shameful process – in sum, deceitful and unbefitting the ethical behavior expected at an institute of higher learning such as Vanderbilt University. Wollaeger and Carroll are sophisticated con men, in fact, Wollaeger literally wrote the book!. [This is not a joke.]

Please join us and thousands others in stopping this travesty.

END OF THE BEGINNING? OR BEGINNING OF THE END?

END GAME OR JUST THE PREQUEL?

Now that the shock has hit the system, it is important at this stage to note: even though WRVU is no longer on the air, this sale agreement is far from a done deal as those involved with the recent poaching of WRVU would like you to believe. Or put another way, we see what has transpired to date – starting with the ignominious VSC sale announcement back in September 2010 up to the recent silencing of WRVU – as a disappointing prequel (let’s call it “The Phantom Menace”) and that the far superior chapters are still to come (say…”A New Hope”)

Trust us when we say THIS IS NOT OVER. What we need for you to do is to stay involved and stay connected. One thing is certain, there is real cause for being livid with what has transpired surrounding this sale. Without any doubt, The VSC/WPLN sale agreement is a grave disservice to Vanderbilt Students and the wider Nashville community, who both have, until very recently, mutually benefited from WRVU for 60 years. Further, those at the VSC, who were entrusted with safe-guarding their most important legacy, have violated the public’s and the student’s trust, not only in the act of callously selling WRVU’s on-air license, but, perhaps more importantly, in the cowardly and secretive manner they conducted this misdeed. They have shown contempt for this cherished asset and for those many 1000s who have continuously built and operated it and have shown contempt for those many more thousands who enjoy it and recognize its worth to Vanderbilt and to Middle Tennessee.

What you can do? Stay involved. Upcoming events and information will be forth coming.

Again, trust us when we reiterate that This. Is. Just. The. Beginning.

Stay tuned.

 

ONWARD!

What Now ?!?

We here at SaveWRVU continue to be surprised and saddened, as you are, of the news of the VSC decisions – the poaching of WRVU for $3.35M in chump-change against the well-articulated protests of fans, students, alumni, Nashvillans, musicians, music lovers, and decent people the world over (see HERE and HERE for starters). WRVU has as much as a storied history and as much wide-spread allegiance as ANY Vanderbilt student organization, so how. could. this. happen? We share in the thousands of visitors that this site has received in the past 24 hours in the grave disappointment that this announcement has wrought.

Do keep in mind, much effort was made on the behalf of many to prevent this outcome, but Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC), the insular, self-anointed arbiters of WRVU’s fate, had clearly made-up their minds long ago, yet, went to the additional effort of displays of embarrassing public hand-wringing on how difficult this ‘decision’ was for them to make. Keep these facts in mind:

1) VSC, the board who unilateral made this awful decision has NO WRVU representation.

2) VSC indicated that at the onset that they would be transparent to WRVU staff in any moves to sell the station, which, evidently was interpreted by the VSC as actually meaning that they will remain largely silent as they execute a fait accompli, while paying lip-service to the avalanche of ideas and support to better alternatives.

3) There is mention of a concession to WRVU with it continuing in HD3 format. Have you heard of HD3? Yeah, we haven’t either. If is the future, why is the buyer so interested in the antiquated on-air band-width of WRVU? You know the answer: HD3 is a joke, dead on arrival, and is no substitute to on-air broadcast.

4) The timing of their decision is no accident. Naturally, this date was picked because it is an inherently ‘slow news day’ on campus since most students are on summer break.

5) This IS NOT OVER.

As noted, due to the VSC’s continued deceptions, secretive and evasive maneuvering, and actions counter to their own promises and assurances, we were caught off guard. What we need you to do is this: STAY WITH US ON THIS! We need time to organize and figure out the next steps and present them. Promise that you will keep coming back to this forum and others. Remember, the scum, who are in some advance stage of executing WRVU, picked this time to intentionally keep a low profile to mitigate the public outcry to their shameful decision – these are cowardly and craven people and as such want to wait for the ‘din to die down’.

The din will not die down until we hear some intelligent reasoning why this was the only recourse allowed for WRVU – the murder of a 60 year student-founded and student-operated and roundly beloved institution.

Again, STAY WITH US ON THIS!

WRVU’s final moments HERE..

See The Nashville Scene for MORE..

Also See The Tennessean for MORE..

Also See The Tennessean Comment Section for MORE..

Also See Radio Survivor for MORE..

Also see Public Radio Advocate MORE..

Also yesterday’s Nashville Scene article for MORE..

Also posted by our friends at WUAG HERE..

 

WORDS FROM WRVU FRIENDS AND FAMILY

FROM WRVU FRIENDS AND FAMILY:

“We regret to learn of the news from VSC and WPLN release today. We have been working very hard to establish a dialog with VSC to help them understand what a valuable and important resource having their own college radio station can be. Unfortunately, while they appeared to be listening to our concerns, they were evidently working to complete the agreement for the sale of the station. Despite assurances that “no decision had been made,” this deal has apparently been moving forward steadily since they first announced the exploration of the idea.”

“We are hopeful that the final chapter has not been written for WRVU and we will be working diligently in the coming days to try and undo this terrible event.”

 

VSC – TRAITORS TO VANDERBILT STUDENTS RELEASE STATEMENT TO WRVU STAFF

In typical mealy-mouthed and now trademark cowardly fashion that we have come to expect, Mark Wollaeger, chair of the VSC, the organization ostensibly charged with protecting WRVU, has issued the following steaming pile:

Hello WRVU staff — this was held up by an attachment which I will paste into a separate message.

I ‘m writing to let you know that the board of Vanderbilt Student Communications has agreed to sell the license of WRVU 91.1FM to Nashville Public Radio for $3,350,000.

WRVU’s programming format will continue online and, as part of the agreement, will resume broadcasting on WPLN’s HD3 channel beginning this fall. The agreement also guarantees Vanderbilt students will have internship opportunities at Nashville Public Radio.

The new station, WFCL 91.1FM, will have a format focused on classical music and the arts. It will promote local performances and events. WRVU’s terrestrial signal will stop today at 2:30, switching to online automation only. At midnight tonight, the 91.1 format change will go into effect. (I apologize for the call letter confusion last night and this morning; some signals got crossed along the way.)

If you’re a DJ with a show on WRVU’s summer schedule, please note that automation will continue online through the summer. The station facilities in Sarratt will be closed effective immediately. We plan to use the time from now until the fall semester begins to upgrade equipment, replace carpet and paint. We also believe that it makes sense to pause and plan for what will be a highly promoted relaunch of WRVU as an HD and streaming station on September 1. The VSC board understands this change is disruptive to your summer plans, but it was necessary in order to prepare for a successful fall semester of online and HD broadcast programming.

To provide additional information about the sale, I’ve attached the full press release to this email.

The VSC board has been evaluating the possibility of selling the 91.1 license since the fall of 2009. Board members have spent two academic years engaging in meticulous research, soliciting outside ideas and feedback, and talking with students, alumni, other Vanderbilt community members and radio industry experts to consider numerous options.

Student and faculty board members who served on the board during this most recent academic year approved the sale of the license to Nashville Public Radio. The previous year’s VSC board approved the exploration of a sale.

It was critical to all board members that Vanderbilt students continue to have the opportunity to gain radio experience, enjoy the extracurricular benefits of their participation with WRVU, and offer the WRVU listening audience valuable programming. The VSC board believes these goals will be achieved through the continued online WRVU stream, in-studio experiences using the latest technology, and broadcasting on the new HD channel.

For those concerned that the terrestrial reach of WRVU programming will be diminished, it’s worth noting that this fall our new HD channel (which is being upgraded over the summer) will cover 4,400 sq. miles, while 91.1 FM covers 2,700 sq. miles. We also have plans to promote the new HD service, including a giveaway of HD radios to the community.

The board has closely examined the changing financial framework of the media industry and VSC, specifically. With new technology and media industry changes making headlines almost daily, it’s clear to the board the future of funding for collegiate student media is uncertain.

The $3.35 million VSC will receive as a result of the agreement will fund an endowment we expect to grow over the years and provide a reliable source of revenue for student media at Vanderbilt – indefinitely. Our action has essentially guaranteed the viability of all student media activities now and will make it possible to explore new media opportunities in the future. I believe this accomplishment is significant and tremendously beneficial to students and the Vanderbilt community.

For WRVU, this new assurance provides VSC increased opportunities to continue its investments in audio technology, studio upgrades, marketing, special events, WRVU staff training and more. The VSC board is looking forward to the various possibilities for WRVU in the near- and long-term.

We’re working in partnership with Nashville Public Radio to disseminate the news of the sale to the community. I met with WRVU Station Manger Robert Ackley today to discuss the agreement. The attached press release will go out to the media today. Alumni will be updated on the agreement in the upcoming student media alumni newsletter Tunnel Vision.

Thank you for your participation in WRVU. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

Best,
Mark Wollaeger
Chair, Vanderbilt Student Communications Board of Directors

VSC SELLS WRVU DOWN THE RIVER

WTF?!?: WRVU WFCL ?!?

VSC, against all common decency and counter to their own public statements have sold off WRVU despite months and months of student and community support for preserving the REAL and VITAL treasure that is WRVU.  A dark, dark day in Nashville and for Vanderbilt University.

As usual, the Nashville Scene has the beat on it.

Gentle spirits, THIS IS NOT OVER!  Do anything and everything in your power to make your voice known.  Be sure to read through the information in this website for guidance.

See The Nashville Scene for MORE..

Also See Radio Survivor for MORE..

Also see Public Radio Advocate MORE..

Also yesterday’s Nashville Scene article for MORE..