Coverage of Protest at UNM Against Ending KUNM as a Free Form Station.

K-U-NM volunteers and community supporters today staged a demonstration at the University of New Mexico administration building. The rally was attended by over 400 people, but perhaps the most dramatic events this afternoon took place here in the studios of K-U-NM. After apparently receiving threats by telephone, that damage might be done to the station, campus police sent some eight officers to the station. The officers barred entrance to anyone except with the approval of acting station manager Patsy Catlett, when about a group of about 10 volunteers and staff tried to enter the station, a confrontation took place. You have three paid staff here, and you won't let people in. Now personally, I don't understand what you're afraid of. Look, you're not coming in. Can you have been approved? I have some Patsy. I have some very simple business. Earlier in the day, the rally at the U-NM administration building drew supporters who heard

from various K-U-NM community speakers. I'm here because I like radio and I like K-U-NM, and they're taking away the radio station. I've been living here for 12 years, and I don't live in town, and surveys don't get out there, and I don't have a TV. Now listen to radio, and I care about this is the only thing going on. I think it's important that we keep K-U-NM as the public-supported station that has been for many, many years. I've listened to K-U-NM since 1968 when I first came to U-NM from the United States Navy, it's turned me on to more of the music styles that I listen to now than just about anything else I've listened to. I'd be very, very sad to see it end because of the broad range of music that it has played. I think the jazz format is going to really limit the people who will be listening to it,

especially during the daytime. I think five hours of jazz is going to be a long time to have to listen to jazz five days a week. Welcome stockholders, and if you will, and listeners of K-U-NM, I really want to thank you all for coming here today. The first thing I want you to know is that you've already been powerful in affecting change in our radio station already, and we will continue to do so. The administration is scared of your voices, and we know that we will continue to raise them until they are forced to concede. K-U-NM is your radio station. On behalf of the National Council of Negro Women in the Black community, I just came out. Charlie Morrissey. Garnison support with you in our radio station. It is ours, as you've already said. As we celebrate our 75th birthday in New Mexico, I found it ironic that at the University of New Mexico, we're losing freedoms, and we appreciate your support.

Do ask all people that you know to help us with the petition drive and to call Mr. Sanchez wherever he is. Thank you very much. Okay, Waddel, who joined us just a few months ago and has been doing a great job in the air, has also been taken off the air, has the list of all the DJs that have been pulled off the air at K-U-NM for speaking their mind. These are the DJs that have been taken off so far. Well, if my name is Waddel Dawson, then the list goes as such. Chris, Martin, Kamala Angel, Harry Norton, Waddel Dawson, Harold Dawson, Jeff Greenman, Nolan Hester, Andrea Melis-Nurro, Mark Jackson-Weaver, we shall wrap. Thank you very much. Now, one of the things I want to make sure that all of you do before you leave today is get

one of these and one of these is the to-do list. We need to continue the pressure. The heat is on and boy, it's going to get hotter and that's your job. Early this morning, a meeting took place between UNM Vice President for Community and International Programs, Alex Sanchez, and a representative group of K-U-NM volunteers. Among those meeting with Sanchez was volunteer Mary McConnell, who reported to the rally on today's meeting. We met for over an hour, we did most of the talking, he did most of the listening. My sense at this point is that he was just kind of trying to size us up, trying to see how big this thing is and if there's any chance of it going away. We made it quite clear to him that there is no chance that we are going to go away. The controversy surrounding K-U-NM began with an announced program change that would do away with the daytime freeform programming to replace it with an additional hour of

national public radio news, a two hour NPR arts and performance program, and five hours daily of jazz from the station's record collection. One of K-U-NM's jazz announcers, Jeff Greenman, who himself has been suspended from on air duties, talked about what is planned in the jazz area. They are talking about a 30 or 20 degree sampling of that music that they will give you, beginning with a little windom hill coming out of the performance today class program, some cocktail variety vocals from Saravan and Elephant Gerald not to put down those performers in any way, but a very limited sampling of this music whipped up to a cool fusion by late afternoon. If that's any indication of why I'm here today, I hope it is and I thank you very much for your support. We are putting up the petition that over 400 people here today have signed demanding that the gag order be revoked, that the purports proposed format change be put in deep freeze

and that the K-NM suspended DJs be immediately and fully reinstated back on the air. Why are you posting it up here? These doors are locked and there are policemen inside, we're not allowed into the building so we cannot actually put her on Alexander's door. We also spoke today with Richard Jennings of the Santa Fe group Friends of Freeform. We're taking our own fundraising donations in the form of checks made out to K-NM for deposit only so it can only go to K-NM if and only if freeform radio is continued. How much money have you collected so far? It piled up today, I didn't even have a chance to count it but we got $2,500 in pledges at least at this point. This is for a part-time fundraising effort that's grassroots and just started. Finally today, volunteer Chris Martin was allowed inside schools hall past the campus police

who were guarding that building. Martin went to the office of Vice President Alex Sanchez and delivered a new petition calling for the removal of the so-called gang order and calling for the reinstatement of those announcers who have been suspended. Volunteers from K-NM and their community supporters as well as some of the station staff are planning a benefit concert in the near future and say they intend to continue their fight. And let us know and be able to enter new laundry leaders here in K-NM. Thanks for having us. We really appreciate you joining us this time, thank you for joining us.