Happy to call ourselves ‘volunteers’
Why volunteer?
“In retrospect, the resistance was not to being paid for those hours, the resistance was in being stripped of the “volunteer” title. That was more valuable than money in the KHSU culture.”
That quote, I believe, says it all.
It is I am sure an unintentional endorsement of volunteers. The statement is included in the federal lawsuit filed in November by counsel for former KHSU General Manager Peter Fretwell against the California State University Board of Trustees in which he claims he suffered among other things harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
And as of April 1, Capital Public Radio, based in Sacramento, manages KHSU. In a news release, Humboldt State University called this a “collaborative agreement.” CapRadio, under the agreement, will partner with Chico-based North State Public
Radio (NSPR) to manage daily operations and programming for KHSU.
As this new relationship progresses, according to the release, HSU will work with the new management to “provide student internships” and renew local underwriting “once core operations are in place.”
HSU will retain the FCC-issued broadcast licenses for the KHSU stations that are part of this agreement.
So, now, we’ve got Fretwell’s lawsuit against CSU and KHSU now managed and operated by an out-of-area public radio station. Has CapRadio communicated with Fretwell’s legal counsel? Does it matter?
What matters is the word “volunteer.” In the context of Fretwell’s lawsuit its meaning is transformed into a defiant act.
The word is again given a negative connotation (perhaps unintentional) by HSU spokesperson Grant Scott-Goforth in the April 1 Times-Standard article “KHSU deal excludes community volunteers.” Scott-Goforth states, “We do not anticipate
volunteer-produced shows or content.” It’s as if it is prompting us to say, “Thank goodness! No volunteers!”
I began producing and hosting Artwaves at KHSU public
radio in 1996. I was exclusively a volunteer with KHSU for 21 years and then paid staff for two. As many of you already know, on April 11, 2019, HSU terminated all local programming.
There had always been ongoing debates about how to properly oversee volunteers and students not to mention how to find a way to unify all of our passionate voices. But what had always been clear was our shared love for the art of radio.
Then instead of working to make this amazing 60-plus-yearold stronger, HSU shut it down.
That was two years ago. I didn’t think the hurt could come shooting back, but now this. A lawsuit and a management agreement while both having wildly different agendas both manipulate the word “volunteer” to their own individual ends.
Like any entity with many employees, volunteers, students or whatever you choose to call the people who devoted their creative lives to KHSU, we weren’t motivated by making money, that is true. We did it for the community. We were the community. We are the community. We were and are happy to call ourselves “volunteers.”