Force behind WUSC shutdown pulled similar coup at Tulane
BY ALEX TODOROVIC
In the vortex of the controversy surrounding University of South
Carolina's radio station WUSC (90.5 FM) is director of student media Chris
Carroll. He has presided over the shutdown of two college radio stations
in his carrer; at WTUL in Tulane in 1991 and at WUSC in 1995. His record
became the subject of interest among former WUSC executive staffers who
were dismissed on Jan. 17.
The first publication to make this connection was the national college
radio trade journal GAVIN. Former USC alumni Seana Baruth wrote the
article that was, to a large extent, factually incorrect.
To set the record straight and quell other wild rumors, Carroll did
not "yank a deejay off the air (in mid-song!)" nor has he ever been an
associate of the CIA or travelled to South America. [That would be board
of publications member Kent Sidell]. Nobody has ever seen Carroll stealing
FCC logs and Carroll did not leave Tulane University with his tail between
his legs. In fact, he left with many awards and flattering letters
An examinaion of Carroll's record at Tulane and USC brings some needed
focus to the recent WUSC fracass. The picture that emerges from speaking
to many who have dealt with Carroll, at Tulane and USC, is of a man who
has repeatedly clashed with the college radio crowd.
At both stations he was accused of engaging in behind-the-scenes
maneuvering to create radio stations that conform to his image. He is
generally described as helpful by print and journalsim students and
standoffish by the more "alternative" radio crowd. His own background is
in print and journalism.
One former member of WUSC recalled that Carroll said to him, "You
don't look like one of those freaks." The man, who preferred to remain
anonymous, was dressed in a coat and tie, and thinks Carroll made some
unfortunate assumptions based on his appearance. Carroll denies that he
said this.
At both stations, Carroll has repeatedly used slippery words like
"elitist" and "mainstream." For example, in a 1991 memo dealing with FCC
violations, Carroll wrote, "The station exists only to serve Tulane
students
all
Tulane students, not just an elitist few." What this has to do with FCC
violations is not clear, but it reveals certain assumptions.
When asked about his frequent use of these terms and whether it falls
within the purview of a student media advisor's job to make such
judgements, Carroll said, "I think it's a matter of semantics. There's a
parallel between what happened here and what happened at Tulane in that a
clique of students have taken complete control and are excluding others."
He defined "elitist" and "mainstream" in behavioral terms rather than
appearance.
Former WUSC station manager admits that although they may have done
things in poor taste, like putting sign up that read, "Put away your
fucking CDs!" the station was open to everyone. The executive staff is
elected, after all, and could be removed once a year. Lofton cited
well-attended staff meetings as indication of participation.
Carroll maintains that at both schools the radio station was
"out-of-control" and that the federal licensing procedures forced him to
take harsher measures than he would with other student media. At the
center of both the Tulane and USC brouhaha is how Carroll went about
addressing problems, not whether the stations had problems.
The controversy at Tulane took place in the early nineties. WTUL staff
made WUSC deejays look like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Paula Ouder, WTUL
General Manager in 1990 1991, recalled one incident in particular with a
deejay named "Blaze" that demonstrated WTUL's rebellious spirit.
"I got this call in the middle of the night from the campus police
saying, One of your deejays is smoking pot in the station. Could you
please come down here?' You have to understand, Blaze was this incredibly
popular deejay, but he was smoking pot in the station and the fumes were
seeping into the newspaper office. What was I supposed to do? I fired him
on the spot and the police went away."
The perception is that Carroll encourages outsider candidates for
station manager to implement change. At both stations, Carroll backed
candidates who were either unkown or disliked running for station manager.
These candidates were frequently seen spending time with Carroll but had
no respect among station staff. The perception spread that these students
were either hand-picked, and referred to as Carroll's pets or, even worse,
"kiss-asses." In both cases, Carroll's support of outsider candidates
strained his relationship with radio staff.
Both Tulane and USC radio staff said Carroll only encouraged students
who had an agenda similar to his own. In both cases, students seen as
Carroll's "hand-picked" candidates lost, and Carroll behaved in such a way
after the elections that made students believe he was acting out of malice
and spite.
At both stations, station managers claimed that Carroll did not
communicate his concerns to them until he dropped a "bomb" which forced
them to resign, and which led to the dismissal of the executive staff by
Carroll.
The "bomb" at Tulane was a six-week deadline to fix years of neglect.
The ultimatum was given one week before finals and coincided with the
dismissal of all non-affiliate deejays, people who had been at the station
for years. According to many, these deejays were the most knowledgeable
members of the staff and their dismissal made the deadline that much
harder.
At WUSC the bomb was a packet of evidence against Lofton, along with
a threat that the FCC had "flagged" WUSC's license, a serious charge that
proved unfounded.
Carroll says he was informed by the station's chief engineer of the
flag. In both cases the station managers resigned after being unable to
satisfy Carroll, but claim his style was confrontational rather than
cooperative and was intended to bring them down. Lofton alleges that much
of the evidence against him is patently false.
Carroll's actions led to investigations at Tulane and USC. In both
cases, they found that Carroll had not violated university policies or
procedures, but were reluctant to support his actions.
The report by USC Student Senate stated emphatically "While we believe
that the administration has the authority to make the moves it did, that
does not mean that we agree with it. We do not. We fail to see how
dismissing the entire Executive Staff, en masse, provides any
educational benefits."
At Tulane, Carroll had advised the chair of the media board not to
release members' phone numbers to other board members before a scheduled
vote to remove the station manager. As it was summer, the media board was
out of town. The chair also happened to be one of Carroll's friends, and
was the only person with the members' summer phone numbers. The
investigative body was critical of this obstruction, stating, "It is not
the right of the Chair to prevent one member from talking to another."
When school resumed, after Carroll had left Tulane, two members of the
media board wrote a highly critical letter to the governing body stating,
"We assert that the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mark
Dlutowski were at least somewhat conspiratorial, manipulative and highly
political, and involved not only the Media Board Chair, but then-Media
Advisor Chris Carroll."
Carroll's job was, in both instances, to protect the university's
interests. Carroll maintains that his actions at Tulane were not a
"take-over" but an attempt to "save" the station.
While Carroll has plausible explanations for most of his actions, some
require a stretch of credulity. At USC, for instance, Carroll did not have
the authority to dismiss the executive staff until he was made interim
station manager by the board of publications. The board granted him this
authority in January, but board minutes reveal that Carroll never notified
them that he intended to dismiss the entire executive staff. Had he done
so, the board might have engaged in a debate.
Carroll said he did not inform the board of this decision because he
had "not thought about it yet." The board meeting was Jan. 15; the
executive staff was dismissed on Jan. 17. The decision to dismiss them was
reached on the 16th. This means that Carroll, after having a month to
think about the future of WUSC, decided to fire the entire Executive Staff
in during a 24 hour period. This assertion is either disingenuous or
reflects an extremely impulsive personality.
WUSC is moving forward, but the scars will take time to heal. Members
of student media are divided, and some students are at war. Jerry Brewer,
Director of Student Life, said, "If I had to do it all over again I would
have done it differently with the same goal in mind. I feel bad about what
has happened. Their education has been interrupted, and that is
unfortunate."
"There's a parallel between what happened here and what happened at Tulane in that a clique of students had taken complete control and are excluding others."
Chris Carroll,
USC director of student media
