I’m an alum of SAIC (2022) and I saw your recent piece about the staff that SAIC laid off. I was extremely saddened to read this, especially since I saw one of the positions affected by these layoffs was the Free Radio staff advisor. I couldn’t tell from the article whether the position still exists or not, and I fear for the future of the radio station.
While I was at SAIC I joined Free Radio with a show in my freshman year and liked it so much that I eventually applied for a job there and worked as the Production Manager for a year and a half before COVID forced me to take a gap year and the position was filled by someone else. I adored my time at Free Radio and found a lot of creative satisfaction and inspiration from being a part of that community. And because of my time at Free Radio, now that I’ve graduated I’m a full time radio engineer based in Chicago, even though I travel all over the US for my job.
I did read in your article that the design advisor position at F News no longer exists, and that makes me fear for the future of Free Radio if the same happened to that faculty advisor position. It was never a big operation, it’s only an internet station with no terrestrial signal, and even when I worked there, many of my classmates had no idea it existed. But Free Radio was hugely impactful for me at SAIC and I know it was for many other students, faculty, and alumni.
I would be absolutely devastated to see this radio station get shut down, and I hope that these recent cuts don’t end up with SAIC gutting the radio program. Free Radio changed the course of my life, and I want it to live on!!!
Thank you,
-Anna Godfrey, SAIC 2022 undergrad alum and big time radio enthusiast
