The University of Waterloo radio station is off the air after students voted against paying $2.50 per term to support it. According to its website, CKMS 100.3 Sound FM started as a cable station at the university in the 1970s and is Ontario’s third campus FM station. In February 2008, students voted to remove the $5.50 per term fee that went to the station.
“There are 68 on-air programmers and seven [on the] board of directors,” said CKMS vice-president Selene MacLeod. “These reflect numbers of people who paid their membership fee and kept their volunteer cards up-to-date, which I don’t believe is an accurate refection of how many people support the station.”
The station has worked with local business owners and non-profits, supporting independent artists since its inception, added MacLeod.
The vote was close, with 2,005 students voting for the fee and 2,400 voting against. Although 19,000 students did not participate, the referendum had the highest voter turnout in the history of Waterloo’s student union.
“I believe that there are plenty of students that support campus radio and like the rest of us, can’t imagine a campus without a radio station,” said MacLeod. “Maybe the results would have been different if the question being asked was, ‘Is it worth it to you to support the arts, local music, Canadian culture and have opportunities in broadcasting, administration, and governance of a radio station, all for just $2.50 per term?’”
The station’s licence is valid until 2014, and it has been investigating alternative options.
“As long as there is the slightest hope that we can sort out our financial problems, attract advertisers and membership, and keep providing the best in quality, independent radio programming, we’re staying on in some incarnation,” said MacLeod. “I’m frustrated, heartbroken, and deeply disappointed that the students of UW won’t have this resource in future generations—I’m not losing anything, they’re losing a lot.”
