WVU radio station shut down briefly after student complaints

Staff ‘uncomfortable’ in their workplace

Was it a rebellion by the staff? Or is the student radio station at West Virginia University in the midst of its own “Me Too” moment?

What at least one station employee described as accusations of sexual harassment apparently sparked a job action Thursday by student staff of WWVU-FM, forcing the station off the air for part of the day.

By Thursday night, U92-FM was back on the air, broadcasting the women’s basketball game in Morgantown between WVU and the University of Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, WVU’s Title IX office has been alerted to the matter, which is being investigated, said Corey Farris, WVU’s dean of students. He said he could not elaborate.

In recent days, a number of station staffers have taken to social media over the atmosphere within the station.

“Our workplace has become an uncomfortable environment in which many don’t feel safe. On campus,’’ tweeted news director Mel Smith, 21, a senior strategic communications major from Bel Air, Md. “The students of @U92_FM deserve their voices to be heard.”

In another tweet, she stated, “I’ve had people on my staff feel uncomfortable to the point they cannot come into their place of work and do their shift without feeling threatened. Broadcasters have stepped down this week. As their boss, it’s

heartbreaking.”

Tweets by her and others named or alluded to the station’s general manager, Matthew Fouty, a WVU employee.

Contacted Thursday evening, Mr. Fouty confirmed he is the subject of complaints to the university’s Title IX office by five current and former students, though he said Ms. Smith was not among them.

He said the complaints by the four males and one female contained no specifics and were unfounded.

“They said there were comments made of a sexual nature that made people uncomfortable,” he said.

Mr. Fouty, hired in March 2015, asserted that students who do not want a university employee overseeing them are using recent, highly publicized sexual misconduct cases in Congress, Hollywood, the media and elsewhere as an opportunity to get rid of him.

“They’re thinking, ‘ This is our chance to get him out the door.’ That’s exactly what I think,” he said.

But Ms. Smith tells a different story.

She said Friday that a group of student staff members would release a statement Monday.

Most of the staff except for sports is continuing the job action, and the station is staying on air using automated playlists, she said.

The group’s grievances go beyond specific harassment allegations to other behaviors, as well as “the reaction we’ve gotten from the university,” Ms. Smith said.

She disputed Mr. Fouty’s assertion that she had not filed a complaint against him. She said she had done so.

She accused him of a range of behaviors from what she said were inappropriate comments on-air to “excessive communication” with staff, including during off hours.

She said the students do not object to having a general manager, but want Mr. Fouty replaced.

Some tweets say the workplace problem has persisted and that WVU failed to act —something university officials dispute. “WVU will not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, domestic misconduct, stalking or retaliation,’’ it said in a statement Thursday.

The university said it reached out to students who posted complaints on social media and had a “productive and congenial” meeting.

But hours later, the job action occurred.

It called the station shutdown “unfortunate” and if it continues “could jeopardize the station’s license.”

Mr. Fouty said the Title IX investigation was not finished but that he had not been disciplined.

He said he signed agreements at the behest of the Title IX office not to identify the people involved or to retaliate.

The station was off the air for about three hours Thursday, though part of the staff remained on the job, Mr. Fouty added.