Answering general complaints about unpopular "educational" channels, the Undergraduate Council of Students is conducting a poll to see what channels students would like to see instead, said Brian Bidadi '06, chair of the UCS Admission and Student Services committee. "UCS wants to substitute two other channels available for more desirable programming," he said.
"Two of the channels are really inadequate for the students. Also, they're highly replacable," Bidadi said, referring specifically to the NASA channel and Russian Television Network. He cited the availability of NASA content online, which he said renders the present channel unnecessary.
Bidadi said he thinks students are more interested in channels such as Cartoon Network, the Discovery or History channels, Fox News and the New England Sports Network, which according to Bidadi would be popular on campus because it carries Boston Red Sox games.
Many students agree with Bidadi. Morgan Brewster '06 and Amanda Parker '07 both said they would eliminate RTN, and Parker added she would also get rid of the NASA channel.
"I think we should have a Discovery Channel or a History or (The) Learning Channel ... and Cartoon Network. That's all I watch," said Nanette Milner '06.
But some professors disagree. RTN is used as part of class assignments for Russian language students, said Svetlana Evdokimova, professor and department chair of Slavic studies. Upon hearing that the replacement would be determined by the students, she said, "The problem is (RTN) is important for students, especially important for concentrators. ... We would rather leave it in place."
The NASA channel is important to the Department of Geological Sciences, said Deborah Glavin, coordinator for the Planetary Data Center.
The loss would be "catastrophic for us," she said, because of the University's standing with NASA as one of nine institutions in the country that shares significant data with NASA for current missions, has a library dedicated to planetary information and offers a Ph.D. in planetary geology.
Glavin said the University is the "premier place in New England for space information," and department faculty and students "rely pretty heavily" on the channel. The possible loss of the channel would be "devastating (and) detrimental," she said.
The department will soon have "people here overnight to watch" the Deep Impact mission and often invites school groups that don't have their own satellite dish to watch the channel at the University. "It's a big deal for us to lose that," Glavin said.
NASA provided funding for some of the original Brown satellite dishes, she said, and there is an implied deal to continue showing the NASA channel in support of that contribution.
"It would be terrible," said Nancy Christy, coordinator of geological sciences. The department keeps track of Brown alums and faculty involved in NASA missions, she said. Christy said she watches the missions with the department. "Everybody watches," she added.
The University pays for 22 cable channels because cable programming is sold in categorical packages, such as a news package of various news channels, rather than by individual channel. However, the University has the infrastructure to display only eight of those along with broadcast and educational channels. The eight presently on air were determined in a UCS referendum in March of 2000, said Kara Kelley, director of personal technology services at Computing and Information Services.
The 14 channels the University receives but does not broadcast include Cartoon Network, ESPN Classic and Fox News as well as more obscure choices like Game Show Network and Bloomberg Television.
The easiest way to change the channels available, according to both Kelley and Bidadi, would be to switch a current channel with one already paid for.
While this change would still require the purchase of new equipment, any long-term upgrades to the network that could add either more channels or more expensive channels, such as HBO, would cost the University much more money. Bidadi estimated a nominal fee, but Kelley said any overhaul of the infrastructure to increase channel capacity would cost "half a million dollars," a cost that is "way too intensive" for a relatively small change.
Bidadi said the cost of funding could also be offset by canvassing alums and former students such as CNN founder Ted Turner.
The poll is being held on WebCT through Friday along with the UCS referendum for instant runoff voting. Bidadi said CIS made a commitment to change the cable lineup if UCS conducts a student poll. "Change is very possible," he said.
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Channels already paid for by the University but not currently broadcast to dorms:
Bloomberg TelevisionC-SPAN 2Cartoon NetworkCNN Headline NewsESPNEWSESPN ClassicFox News ChannelGame Show NetworkLifetimeMTV 2NickelodeonTBSUSA NetworkThe Weather Channel
Source: Computing and Information Services
