For CHUO 89.1 station manager Parujee Akarasewi, the
University of Ottawa
campus broadcaster is all about shining a light on minority communities.
“We are the speaker for the underrepresented,” Akarasewi said. “Our main focus is for minority and BIPOC communities, and people who have no voice.”
But
that voice
is slated to be silenced after the station’s board of directors held an emergency meeting Monday night, deciding the broadcaster would go off air March 31.
CHUO 89.1 has faced
major financial setbacks
since students voted in a 2023 by-election to end the levy that helped fund the station. At the time, the levy made up about 80 per cent of the broadcaster’s overall budget.
Akarasewi said when the levy was in place, the station only had to pay $1 a month to the university for studio space located in the basement of the Morisset library.
Now that the levy no longer exists, and CHUO 89.1 is an independent non-profit, the university was asking the station to pay about $27,225 a year to use their studio.
“By the end of September, we got a letter from uOttawa saying … it is time to pay for the rent,” she said. “We looked at the money we had right now. If we had to pay for the rent, we wouldn’t have enough money to pay for the staff.”
CHUO 89.1 launched a fundraising drive with a lofty goal of $150,000 that the board of directors said the station needed by Dec. 15 to stay operational. They raised approximately $12,000.
The station is primarily volunteer-run, however, there are four paid staff members and a work-study program in place.
“CHUO does not currently pay rent to the university,” reads a statement from University of Ottawa spokesperson Jesse Robichaud. “There had been discussions around establishing a rental agreement, but one was not reached.”
Robichaud said uOttawa continues to be in communication with the station’s independent board of directors, but the university “does not plan to provide funding to CHUO.”
The station started as a campus club in 1975 and acquired its FM license in 1991.
Actor and comedian Tom Green is among the station’s most notable alumni. Green hosted the show “Nightfall” in the 1990s.
“We have trained a lot of students,” Akarasewi said. “We are the playground for students, for them to actually come here and learn new skills.”
Akarasewi said all programming that airs on the broadcaster after Dec. 15 will be pre-recorded.
University of Ottawa student Gloria Ginn co-hosts the show “Asianfluence” alongside Akarasewi and said she is “devastated” by the news.
“I never imagined I would be on the radio,” Ginn said. “Speaking live and improving my public speaking skills while also doing something that I love is super cool.”
Ginn said her show is all about highlighting Asian music and culture while promoting Asian-Canadian artists.
“Our campus will be worse off without having a radio station,” said Jack Coen, president of the University of Ottawa Students’ Union. “Radio stations have been a mainstay of campus life for a long time and still are across the country.”
Coen said space is tough to come by on the university’s campus as the city fills out.
“Everyone is fighting all the time for a limited amount of space,” he said.
Coen said he has a meeting planned with the station’s board of directors. He also pointed out that the university has another election period in the winter and referendum questions can be brought forward, which could include proposing a new levy.
Akarasewi said she plans to try and bring forward a student levy proposal in the winter to help keep the station alive, but she said the station would have to shut down until any money is secured.
But barring a last-minute miracle, the station and its tight-knit crews’ days are numbered.
“It’s really become a family to me,” Ginn said. “The FM can maybe stand for family because we are so close and we don’t want to see it go.”
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