The FCC won't let me be

In January, WIUX student radio finally moved to an FM frequency after nearly four decades of attempts. But there was barely any time to break out the Keystone before the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would allow WYGB, a country music station, to take control of WIUX's 100.3 FM frequency because of its higher broadcasting priority.\nRegardless of what you think of country music (there are some very strong opinions among the editorial board), there are many other stations that can be picked up in Bloomington that broadcast only country. There are few stations besides WIUX, though, that broadcast rock, jazz, hip-hop, funk, punk, ska, techno/rpm and local music. Nor are there many other stations that offer such diversity as news, sports, interviews, sex advice and creative writing shows. Nowhere else on your dial would you be able to find programming like "The Bananaphonetics Show," "Butt on Door" or "Forty Minutes to Locate Canada." \nBut it's not just its unique programming that makes WIUX such a diamond in the rough. Part of the beauty of the station is that it is student-run. DJs don't have to answer to "The Man," and the freedom of the station is not compromised by ties to massive media conglomerates. What's more, it gives students interested in the field a unique opportunity to learn the ropes and test out their creative juices before they enter the radio job market. \nEven so, moving off of an FM frequency does not spell the end for WIUX. The station managed to survive for nearly 40 years as an AM station, and if the FCC has its way, the station will most likely continue much the same as it has in previous years. But honestly, who listens to AM radio anymore? While AM does have a few devotees, we remain fairly confident that significantly more IU students and members of the Bloomington community have their radio dials set to FM than AM. By switching back to AM, WIUX risks losing advertisers and backers. In addition, the station might lose a good portion of its accidental audience, who, unaware of its existence, stumble upon it while flipping between "SexyBack" and "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk."\nSo how does the FCC justify this injustice? WIUX is a Low Power FM station, and it is the organization's policy to allow Low Power stations to be kicked off the airwaves if construction of a new station would cause interference with the signal. WIUX has apparently gotten in the way of "Korn Country," a station broadcast out of Columbus, Ind.\nIf the FCC intends to suppress the values of individualism and creativity within the IU community, as well as undermine the years of hard work that the station's staff and supporters put in to obtain their prided FM frequency, then it's on the right path. However, the organization has a duty to serve us, and allowing WIUX to lose its FM frequency would not complete that task. We are confident that this is not the FCC's intent and hope that it will reconsider.\nInfo on petitioning the FCC is available at http://wiux.org/new/public-comment.