Present location "modernized cave"
KUOK in need of better facility
Photo by Julie Howard
KUOK operates in poor conditions
Students broadcast radio station KUOK from the basement of Hoch Auditorium in the midst of poor, insufficient conditions. These conditions include: inadequate ventilation, no parking improper acoustics and lighting.
By JULIE THATCHER
Kansan Staff Writer
More than 80 people depend on an area described as a "modernized cave" to produce KUOK campus radio broadcasts.
An area without toilet facilities, without parking, without adequate ventilation and without proper acoustics and lighting, the station is located in the basement of Hoch Auditorium. A single entrance from the rear driveway provides accessibility to the area.
"It is not good working space," said Bruce A. Linton, professor of journalism. "It's good storage space but not a good people space."
For over a year students, faculty and administrators have realized there is need for improvement.
"The problem was discussed nearly a year ago after the Nichols Fire at K-State." Linton said. "The administration has been concerned about the space, especially because of its safety features. Students endure bare wooden patched floors a slanting exit ramp, threadbare carpeting, make shift partitions, exposed pipes, hazy lighting, brick abut-
ments, the absence of toilet facilities and an occasional rat.
"Sure it's homey down here, but we'd rather be in a nicer place. We really have a dedicated staff to come down here and make the best of it," said Mark Cooper, Prairie Village sophomore and KUOK program director.
A big problem is parking. Willian Kissel, Overland Park senior and station manager, said it was critical. "We are allowed four permits, valid between 6 and 10 p.m., for our entire staff. We start work at 6 p.m. so we have to park early and often receive tickets within ten minutes of 6 p.m. We can't park out back during the day because it's a loading zone so in daylight we have absolutely no space available," Kissel said.
Lack of ventilation is another problem. Although there are large circular objects located on the ceiling which supposedly bring in air, Cooper said they do not.
The single outside exit is sometimes left open so fresh air can enter the studio. Traffic and security doesn't approve of this, Kissel said, and insists we keep the door locked.
keys, however, and someone could pound on that door all night and we'd never hear him inside," Kissel said.
Lack of toilet facilities also plagues KUOK disk jockeys. Cooper said the nearest bathroom was next to the stage in Hoch.
"We have to go upstairs and unlock two doors to get to it. When we're broadcasting it's impossible to leave the studio that long. We usually step out the back door," Cooper said.
"They don't issue us enough
"The area is acoustically bad and far from sound proof. Ideally a studio should have filled walls and carpeted floors to prevent extraneous sounds," he said.
Although Arthur Ramey, state fire marshall, said one exit was acceptable in a classroom area with less than 50 students, the KUOK location presents a potential hazard. Cooper said there were no windows or alternate exits and the single door was at the end of a short hallway.
"In the broadcast booth," he said, "students would be oblivious to an emergency situation in the hallway. There could be a real tragedy."
Linton sympathized, "I can understand their frustration. The students work hard on the air and put in long hours. Surely the situation is a problem for them. Everyone wants to get out of the area. There is a general feeling that Hoch basement is not a proper home for the station.
"Of course I'm confident the administration is well aware of the problem and it is not being ignored because they don't care. I'm sure they haven't forgotten."
Students are not as optimistic. Kissel said he saw everyone he could see about finding a new home for the station.
"They told me the problem would be presented at a meeting and that's the last we heard about
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