Castleton State College’s WIUV radio station recently contacted an engineer to look at some
damage to radio equipment caused by a recent
windstorm.
In the process, engineer Neil Langer found that
one vital piece of WIUVequipment that receives
emergency messages was years outdated, which
could have resulted in a fine of up to $10,000, radio station leaders say.WIUV General Manager
Michael Mitrano was shocked by the announcement.
“Our EAS system, which receives weather
forecasts (and emergency announcements), was
outdated for about five to six years,” Mitrano said.
“And if we kept using that, then the college could
have been fined up to about $10,000 by the FCC.”
According to the fcc. gov website, the Emergency
Alert System requires TV and radio broadcast
providers to offer the president the communications
capability to address the American public during
a national emergency, for example AMBER alerts
for missing children.
You may wonder how the members of the station
had neglected this for so long. According to Mitrano, the lack of funds allotted for regular equipment check-ups was the main cause for this oversight.
Radio station advisor Robert Wuagneux said he
has little to do with the inner workings of WIUV,
but does agree that there should be annual checkups and program updates.
“You gotta remember, that a new crew comes in
and they’re not thinking about program updates,”
Wuagneux said. “All they’re thinking about is
just getting behind the microphone and promoting
WIUV awareness.”
Student Government Association Treasurer Tiaunna Leddick explained that WIUV does not have a set annual budget, however Mitrano says they have requested more money in light of these recent events.
At the last meeting on Feb. 13, the SGA approved a budget increase of $199, for a total of $2,199 just for this semester.
With this money, Mitrano says they were able to purchase a new EAS program, another programing system for sports broadcasting and a wireless receiver.
Also, the SGA covered the $2,300.43 bill for the engineer, SGA officials.
 WIUV Co-General Manager Jaren Carpenter believes that the fault of the station’s outdated programs does not sit with the staff.
“The biggest problem is cutting back the budget and it cuts back on check-ups,” Carpenter said.  “We didn’t have the money to pay it.”
Mitrano explained that to have the engineer come for a check-up, it would cost about $150 an hour and the engineer generally stays five to seven hours.
Though the SGA funds the club, some members wonder if the college should fund WIUV instead.
“I personally would like to drop WIUV funding and let the college pay for it,” said SGA President Michael Shalginewicz.
 Shalginewicz thinks that it’s a hefty amount of money that the SGA is giving to the radio station, especially when none of the SGA members know how the station is run.
But Dean of Students Dennis Proulx says that all student media should go through the SGA.
“Anything that is purely student run should be paid for by the SGA,” Proulx said.
Langer is pleased that he caught the problems and has been at the college for five days fixing everything so it can be FCC ready.
“I think we’re in better shape,” Langer said.  “All they have to do is keep it up.”
In other SGA business, at the same meeting delegate Jordan King spoke briefly about how she’s been working on getting door hangers to hang off of the doorknobs around campus showcasing CAB events and SGA election news.
And due to current events, delegate Lacey Boleyn is creating a violence forum that will allow students to talk about issues that have been happening around campus.