 |
| Gary Zekis Dear President Jennings, My name is Gary Zekis, 2001 graduate of the University of Evansville and alumnus of WUEV 91.5 FM. It has been brought to my attention by a concerned alumnus that the university is considering the sale of one of its best assets, WUEV, to an outside group, thus ending student run-radio on the campus. I would be disappointed to see future students denied the same quality, hands-on education I received through the radio station. During my freshman year, I had some true soul searching, especially after ending my pursuit of both my pre-med and civil engineering studies. A chance meeting with a WUEV show producer opened me up to an opportunity to work the overnight shift for the station's heavy metal music program. That experience helped me to find myself as a person and turned into a career. My four years at WUEV landed me an internship at WGN-AM in Chicago, led me into Syracuse University's exclusive Newhouse School Broadcast Journalism Master's program and later brought me to my current television job in Little Rock. It is not possible for students at the University of Evansville to find broadcasting internships in Evansville, which would provide as much depth in instruction, management and on-air experience as WUEV-FM. It would be an irreplaceable loss to the UE to eliminate WUEV for the students of the Mass Communications department and other fields of study such as business, public speaking, and theatre, who can apply their skills in the classroom to the medium. WUEV is a powerful, often undervalued education tool, which provides a voice to its students and teaches the lessons of public service. As a student, I felt WUEV connected me both to my campus and also the greater Evansville community, which can be a rare commodity for some students. Most importantly, University of Evansville would cease to be the school I attended if WUEV ceased to exist. I have already seen many solid operations, both non-commercial and commercial, get scraped for reasons which are sometimes not completely thought through. I have personally been through two "media divorces." WUEV is a special station with committed people who care, who have built something beautiful and who deserve better from their university. It is my second home. Sincerely, Gary Zekis |