Note from the Editor: This letter was sent in an email to President Becker. The editor was carbon copied on this email. The president’s response follows the letter.
President Becker,
The GPB/WRAS deal isn’t in GSU’s interest.
I am a former GSU student and Signal section editor/staffer. My wife graduated from GSU in 1995. Our GSU roots run deep. I asked her out for the first time just outside the old, tiny WRAS office in the University Center. I appreciate that the university is a living, breathing thing, and that it should not remain static. Spaces change, but spirit remains. Radically changing WRAS’s mission and spirit slices right through the heart of what GSU’s fundamental (and apparently former) orientation towards a sophisticated and involved student body.
WRAS and the Signal served as two major reasons I chose GSU. Now I’m selecting a school for my MBA work. I have removed GSU from my list of options and choose one which puts a higher value on full student participation in both the university and its decision-making process. As you said today in your WABE interview, this is happening. I’m a native Atlantan. Change remains my constant companion. It’s unfortunate that GSU is choosing to change what it values and that those values no longer align with mine.
– Jim Stagg
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President Becker’s response:
Dear Mr Stagg,
Thank you for sharing your perspective with me. It is clear that we both care deeply about GSU and providing amazing opportunities for students. I, however, respectfully disagree with your perspective on the future of Album 88. The mission is unchanged, and it is our expectation that the station will continue to thrive well into the future.
I wish you all the best in your future studies, and I hope that you will continue to be an avid listener and supporter of Album 88.
Sincerely,
Mark Becker
