Dr. J Gonzo Medicine Wheel

“Hear no, see no, speak no
evil ... there’s gotta be some-
one we can trust out here
among us.”

from The Wallflowers’
( Three Marlenas )
EARS Radio, wow ...
concept.
Thanks in large part to the
hard work of a dedicated few,
UNBC’s very own Campus
based broadcast station is
now quickly growing and tak-
ing shape. On the whole
EARS (Education Alternative
Radio Society) in fact stands
to offer a valuable vehicle in
helping hopefully to strength-
en both our sense of student
culture and identity.
As with most new projects, if
you at all tune in, you begin to
sense the critical mass, a
building of momentum which
once achieved is necessary
to sustain in order to ensure
any real credible long term
success. Listen and you can
almost feel the giddy
groundswell of community
interest and on-campus sup-

what a

port.

With what was a turnout of
close to 50 members, EARS
in fact recently held its first
formal AGM this past week in
UNBC’s Winter Gardens.
For better or for worse, direc-
tors found themselves elect-
ed virtually through acclama-
tion. Encouraging the stu-
dent body to “get involved in
the process of change”, there
also came a sincere call from
the top for a “less hierarchi-
cal, more democratic, gen-
uinely community oriented
focus”. While on the face of
things, these are all noble
ideals, a number of fellow stu-
dents expressing their con-
cern with a range of issues
including what they see as
overly arbitrary restrictions on
format and program content
prompted me to “GO
GONZO”, step back and
actually give the tune EARS
is presently paying a little
closer listen.

For starters, to what degree
would you say current broad-

casts offer students “a true
balance in programming” of
Community Access
Media??? While on the one
hand seeking to serve up
shows that “differ in style and
substance” from that provid-
ed by other elements of the
broadcasting system, “par-
ticularly commercial sta-
tions” and the CBC, all of
Ce~ada’s NCRA (National
Cumpus Radio
Association) stations are at
the same time expected to
operate within “certain rea-
sonable bounds” of pre-
scribed CRTC guidelines.
Similar to the CRTC’s
expectations of general
Canadian content, “at
least” 25% of campus radio
programming should be
“spoken word, specialized
block programs that show-
case particular types of
music or programs
addressing topics not cov-
ered by other mainstream
media”; targeted to identifi-
able groups, ethnocultural

UNBC Creative Writin

featuring

events will be posted.

and minority within the com-
munity. Hmmm ... “sounds”
fair and reasonable. As most
will agree, material generally
offered by campus stations
can also often be seen as
highly “alternative” in nature

(ranging anywhere from “non-
commercial rock and pop to
specialized, emerging, avant-
garde or experimental musi-
cal genres”). Moreover, it's

expected that “at least”
(continued on page 6)

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poet performance poet poet & novelist
April 5 7:30pm April6 8:30pm April7 8:30pm
UNBC Room 7-150 Fourth Avenue Blues Club UNBC Cafeteria
and also
George Stanley (poet) Michael Turner (poet & novelist) Ken Belford (poet)
Jacqueline Baldwin (poet) Michael Armstrong (playwright) Heather Harris (poet)

TWO DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS OF READINGS, PERFORMANCES, PANEL DISCUSSIONS, WORKSHOPS AND
CONTESTS! FREE! Everyone is welcome to attend. For additional infomration contact Gwen MacDonald (English
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g Festival