Dominique Tait
Contributing Writer
It’s hard to miss the PeruChi truck, whether it is parked and serving their unique meals or if it’s driving the streets of San Francisco. The truck’s bright red panels and cartoon faces offer onlookers giant, and endless, smiles – and their food does too. Continue reading A Truck With A Twist
The sale of KUSF’s radio signal has stirred up much controversy within the Bay Area community, but now the KUSF staff is working to move forward with the station’s website. Since last week, KUSF has been streaming online.
“We are doing everything possible to rebuild KUSF,” KUSF program director Trista Bernasconi said.
Their main concern is retaining the high standards of the radio shows. Bernasconi said, “I don’t want to just have filler, I would rather have a quality program.”
There is also the decreasing number of KUSF members. Since the sale on Jan. 18, there has been a mix of students and volunteers who are unsure about coming back to KUSF. Though the station has been streaming online prior to the sale, the new programming will be difficult to manage. Many professionally-trained community volunteer members have quit the station.
While on air, KUSF drew in about 30,000 to 50,000 listeners per week. Since the switch from waves to the web, only about 40 to 50 listeners tune in weekly. Bernasconi explains that a large number of KUSF fans have stopped listening because their favorite DJs are no longer with the station. Additionally, due to the station’s unexpected pull off the air, many fans were not aware of KUSF’s online-only streaming.
The nature of the sale has created uproar within the local community and the rest of California. The non-commercial radio station KUSF was forced off the air without warning after USF sold 90.3 FM to a classical station, KDFC, for $3.75 million.
According to Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., the university could not afford a station that was not primarily student-oriented; only 10 percent of the staff were students. The KUSF-KDFC contract is awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) members for a few more weeks.
Individuals have voiced their complaints in letters to Michael Bloch, associate dean for social sciences, who holds a copy of the file that has been sent to the FCC. The copy is available for public viewing in Bloch’s office (Harney 244), Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Various correspondence letters in the file state KUSF is “absolutely irreplaceable.” One called the incident a “blitzkrieg-like effort to sell KUSF.”
Many letters in the file praise KUSF’s programming diversity, mix of culture, and their promotion of local musicians, venues and events. “In a land of corporate radio, KUSF provided a beacon of diversity and independence.” One individual pleads, “Please do your part to keep creativity alive and music interesting.”
The KUSF-KDFC sale has significantly shifted the perspective of many supporters of the University. “The ill-advised shuttering of KUSF has left a black eye on the school as a whole.” “USF’s actions have brought nothing but shame on the university.”
USF alumnus Ben Richards said, “The sale of KUSF is a devastating loss not only for the cultural arts, but the community as a whole.”
USF alumna Dawn Mauberret, a former KUSF DJ and director of promotions, wrote about her success — thanks to the station. According to Mauberret, KUSF gave her the chance to write real press releases, organize events, produce weekly shows and manage the promotions department. She landed three internships and her first paying media job through the KUSF network.
Though the public is putting up a good fight to halt the contract approval, Trista Bernasconi continues to improve the now online-only streaming KUSF. She is reaching out to the Media Studies department in hopes of recruiting students to learn about broadcasting through KUSF. Additionally, Bernasconi is working with promoters to spread the word about KUSF while establishing quality web presence of the station. She said, “KUSF is a great resource students can take advantage of,” and welcomes students to come help out with the station.
Anyone who is interested in joining the KUSF team can contact the Program Director, Trista Bernasconi, at [email protected].
To tune in to KUSF online, visit http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/mini.cgi?stationname=kusf&site=PLR-kusf&tm=1105
Editor-in-Chief: Heather Spellacy
Chief Copy-Editor: Natalie Cappetta
News Editor: Ericka Montes
On Sept. 10, emotion poured out of my eyes and ruined my make-up. I was missing New York City’s “Fashion’s Night Out.” I know, lame shame right? But in my defense, it was a day of status updates, tweets and style.com iPhone app alerts that drove my sadness home because I realized just how much I was missing. I’ll be honest: technology got the best of me and I cracked.
Fast-forward 15 hours. After what turned out to be a great evening of West Coast style events, I was enthusiastically uploading a new profile picture and scanning blogs for the best photo coverage of NYC’s night of shopping. Fashion never catches any beauty sleep as it lives in the cyber party-house of social media. Neither does your social image, because you wear your reputation on your sleeve, literally, with your style on and off the net.
I can’t think of a better reason to groom your personal style like you do your Twitter on a daily basis. This Style File relates how social networking is not just found online, but also in your daily adornments.
Four words we all see everyday when navigating “Home” – Facebook “Home,” that is: “What’s on your mind?” Rather it should read, how are you communicating your daily mood? Fashion can do that too. From one day to the next a wardrobe can transform from bold and adventurous to sophisticated and minimal. Let’s log on to two classy USF seniors and check out how they update their mood statuses through their everyday styles.
Aaron Dias- Melim
Aaron’s style shines like one of his many Apple products: functional, hip and smart. Melim said, “If I were to look back at all my tweets and Facebook status updates, I would probably be able to guess very accurately what I would be wearing at that point.” He often pulls inspiration from his family. Melim’s mother was a tailor so he spent much of his childhood playing under sewing machines. With a grunge brother, prepster sister and a father working the lumber yard, his style resonates from many avenues of influence.
Aaron shares three typical looks from his daily life including classroom chic, office mad man and bar black-tie.
Lauren Cromer
Lauren Cromer, back with a fresh face from a semester in Paris, is working on her graphic design major and dresses for success by keeping her style simple, fresh and cute while always evaluating cost per wear. This is one fashionista that styles smart.
“Sometimes I use my outfit to pump me up for the day,” she said. “Get cute and you will feel a lot better throughout the day, no napping!”
Cromer shows off a serene school look, an elegant employee style and some flapper fun.
Editor-in-Chief: Heather Spellacy
Chief Copy-Editor: Burke McSwain
Scene Editor: Tamar Kuyumjian
If I could pick just one song that would sum up my experience at the Foghorn it would be George Gershwin’s “American in Paris.”
Comprised of tempos that range from presto to andante, the Foghorn has never left me thinking twice about my decision to join.
Though my tenure may have been short in comparison to others (I am looking to you, Hunter), I can openly omit my unrelenting obsession with the organization that never sleeps, quite literally.
In recounting my memories over the course of the past year, I can clearly remember the day of our first training when I approached the group, alongside online editor Heather Spellacy, to propose our development map for the Foghorn Online.
Yes, it seemed pretty unrealistic (even by my standards), but you invested your faith and optimism in it, and as a direct result we now have a fully functioning, dynamic site that will continue to flourish in the years to come.
My gratitude also goes out to the staff and faculty that were there from the early days of development up until the end, Professors David Silver, Michael Robertson, Teresa Moore and colleagues Shawn Calhoun, Beth Forest, Darren Pierre and Philip Chen.
We built this site together; your constant encouragement was the fuel that kept us moving forward.
As for the newly created web team, I am eager to see everything you create next year. There is no doubt the pressure is on and expectations are high, but I have full confidence that you will surpass even the most daunting hurdle with ease.
There comes a time when we must all leave, and sadly enough, my card has been drawn and I must begin packing only to face the new challenges that await me.
And so I leave you with a quote about gratitude by the French novelist Marcel Proust, “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
Sincerely Yours,
Michael Anthony Villaseñor
