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PANTHER PRINTS

November 28

CIMN Pubs Under Fire

by Amy Gallan

CIMN radio may be facing a crisis. A bill which may have great implication for the radio station is on its way to being passed by the Student Union. This is being hotly debated, and a solution where everyone comes out happy is unlikely.

The bill, if passed, will limit the number of pubs that a sub-organization can hold to two per semester. This means that CIMN will not be able to book many of the bands that are available for the university’s entertainment. For a sub-organization to be allowed to hold more than their allotted two pubs, their proposal must be approved by the entire Student Union Executive. According to Finley Martin, Student Union vice president of operations, these steps are a necessary preventative measure, to ensure that there will not be a monopoly of pubs by one organization.

One of the worries of CIMN, however, is that pubs will be disallowed by the executive council for invalid reasons. They believe that if they get a band for a pub that none of the executive have heard of, then their proposal for the pub will be shot down.

Another reason for the bill to be passed is the recent profit loss in CIMN’s pub featuring the Pursuit of Happiness. One reason for this loss could have been the excess of pubs that were held recently, and which may have competed with each other. CIMN, however, maintains that they cater to a completely different audience and thus it was not the excess of pubs that caused the loss.

CIMN says that they would prefer to be allotted at least one pub a month, but, as Melissa Buote, music director at CIMN, says, “‘I guess it’s basically whatever the Student Union comes up with, we’ll have to deal with.’’ Also because CIMN is really the only organization which holds more than two pubs a semester, Buote says

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‘We feel as though we’re targeted. [The bill] applies to all the sub-orgs in theory, but not really in practice. It’s just us.”’ Martin, however, maintains that the bill is being passed to ensure that if one organization wants to hold a pub, then there will be a date that will be open. Thus, he says that the bill is for all sub- orgs, and is not entirely focused on CIMN. Another factor in the argument is that CIMN will soon become an open-air FM station. The radio station says that if they hold a pub for the event then they will only have one left for the rest of the semester, a prospect that is rose atau

imnens a bill] paige o all th

or 1S In recognition they get from theit ihe will be lessened. ‘‘[Having pubs] helps us with our relationships with listeners and our relationships with record companies. It’s pretty valuable, promotion wise,’’ explains Buote.

The second part of the bill will limit the age of the pub audience to at least seventeen years old. This part of the bill is to decrease the risk of liability to the student Union, who would be held respon- sible if an underage individual got into trouble during one of the wet/dry pubs. Another reason for this that the campus police dislike working at these pubs -- ‘they feel like it’s babysitting,’’ explains Buote. However, the loss of the underage people would result in a loss in profit for

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the radio station, mainly because a great percentage of the audience at CIMN pubs are 17 and younger.

The recent tensions between the Student Union and CIMN led to the cancellation of the radio station’s next pub, which was to feature Strawberry, a popular band from PEI. Diedre Smith, a member of Strawberry, said that she was very disappointed with the show being cancelled and more importantly with the possible limit to the number of pubs. She explained that this would mean that many of the bands who are as of yet unknown may remain that way, because many of them depend partly on the pubs held at the Barn by CIMN. ‘‘One problem is in PEI everyone wants to hear top 40s on the charts . . . that’s really too bad because by cutting down on the names, it’s cutting down on the music seen and it’s a really important part of culture to have good music seen, even if it’s not the kind you like, and at least the bands get the opportu- nity to get out there and play what they like,’’ explained Smith.

There is no known solution to the recent tensions, and although CIMN is contemplating a petition, they say ‘“We’d like to have more of a compromise, because it’s nice that it applies to all the sub-organizations and it’s nice that it takes all of them into consideration too, but really we’re the only one that goes above and beyond two [pubs] a year in the first place, so we feel that we should have a little bit more to say about it.’’ The Student Union says that they are open to suggestions. The final decision is to occur December fourth.

Ed. Note: Finley and the Student Union are considering a new proposal for sub-orgs that wish to hold pubs. Check January issues of the Prints for more information.

Congrats to the Panther Prints' newly hired News/ Sports Writer, Amy Gallan. - If you have news ideas,