KUT Should Be Given Back to Students

Dear Editor,
    Hello, my name is Robert Flores, and I'm responding to the article about the future of KUT [“Getting on the KUTting Edge,” News, Nov. 25]. I am the current program director for KSYM at San Antonio College in San Antonio. My opinions about the article are purely my own and not the station's. In response, KUT deserves to be given back to the students (poor KVRX). NPR is a nice angle to have, but I don't see how that ties into communication college. Here at KSYM, every paid staff member is required to be enrolled in at least six hours of study for part-time minimum wage. However, it may sound sad, in fact it's an honor. The other college station in town, KRTU (Trinity University), operates much like KUT does with respect to how the station manager and program director are given salaried positions. KSYM is financially independent as well as the others and raises a little more than $50,000 once every year. For us, what it comes down to is what we do. We play music. We're the only outlet in this town (San Antonio) with a 24-hour alternative-music format, and it is run entirely by students at the community college. We have direct community impact.