Save community radio! Call to demand that the UofC restore 24 hour programming to WHPK 88.5FM

The University of Chicago administration has recently announced that personnel of WHPK 88.5FM will no longer have access to the station premises outside of the regular hours of the Reynolds Club, the on-campus building in which the station is housed. This change has cut out a third of our programming and ends a tradition of 24/7 broadcasting that the station has maintained since the 1980s. The decision to restrict access was made behind doors, with little consideration of DJ input.

We ask that you call:
Sarah Cunningham, Senior Director of the Center for Leadership and Involvement: (773) 834-0861
Michael Hayes, Assistant VP of Student Life: (773) 702-7770

Demand that they restore 24 hour access to the station and agree to negotiate future station policies with a governing board that includes student and non-student DJs. Let them know what WHPK 88.5FM means to you, how you have interacted with the station, and how you feel the administration has handled these policy changes:

“I am calling as a [loyal listener of WHPK 88.5FM, WHPK alumnus, current WHPK DJ, alumnus of the University of Chicago]. I want to ask that you restore 24 hour access to the station in Reynolds Club for all DJs and negotiate future policies with a Governing Board that includes student and non-student DJs. WHPK has long existed as a rare opportunity for free expression by University students and residents of the greater South Side alike. I think that the policy to restrict access indicates the administration’s mistrust of its surrounding community members and contradicts the University’s professed values of “freedom of inquiry and expression” on a “campus that welcomes people of all backgrounds.”

Thank you for your support! Stay tuned.
WHPK 88.5FM, the Pride of the Southside