KURE is a student-run and operated station broadcasting from the campus of Iowa State University.” I don’t know how many times I’ve read that sentence in the last year. It is pretty significant, but the problem is some people don’t seem to realize it.

When I arrived in Ames last fall, I read an article on the fledgling radio station and signed my butt up for a slot. It felt natural to be behind that microphone.

There are about 50 other students who feel the same way — broadcasting music and mayhem for the Ames area seven days a week.

The problem is that KURE may be run and operated by students, but student support seems lacking.

I don’t really understand it. More request calls seem to come from high schoolers or the general public than the student body.

On Halloween night, I had a 43-year-old man call up, saying he should be too old to listen to this young buck station. It was great to know somebody was listening.

Awareness seems to be a problem. If you mention KURE, the responses vary.

“Huh?”

“Oh, that Friley station?”

“Cool.”

Sadly, the last one is seldom heard by my ears. I tend to ask the people who dislike the station what their problem is, and most of them don’t answer or have never listened to begin with.

The University of Iowa supports their station, and it’s a pretty good one, too. I tune in whenever I’m in Iowa City. But for all intent and purposes, KURE blows them out of the water.

When the ska-punk wind blew in this summer I wasn’t caught by surprise. Hell, I heard Reel Big Fish’s “Sell-Out” on Cosmo’s “House of Punk and Ska” back in April. All thanks to Cosmo, my eyes were opened to some great new stuff.

The variety of programming makes KURE far more enjoyable than its commercial competition. Rarely do you hear the same song over and over within two hours.

Rock-alternative dominates the programming, since that is what most listeners want to hear. But you can find jazz, blues, techno and urban contemporary throughout the week.

Not to mention there are specialty shows like Cosmo’s or the “Outer Limits” with Animal Chin playing punk, industrial and surf music for the masses.

The campus radio station also boasts the controversial “Pirate Radio” three times a week. This bunch of freaks push the limits to see what will break.

KURE even has exclusive coverage of the hockey games and broadcasts of home football and basketball games.

Everything rolled into one convenient little pill.

One of the roadblocks KURE has run into includes theft. In the past there has been a problem of unscrupulous individuals stealing CDs. But after someone stole two turntables and a DAT player at the beginning of the semester, the severity of this problem was realized.

The turntables were almost 18 years old but still in working order since they were quality equipment. The DAT was used for playing grants, public service announcements and required legal identification. Luckily, one of those remained.

When KURE approached the Government of the Student Body for money to replace the stolen items and install security to prevent this from happening again, more roadblocks appeared.

The money was granted, but not without vocal opposition from Senator Pogge. He felt that KURE may not use the money properly. I’m sorry, but a Fisher Price turntable is not going to replace what was stolen. Professional quality equipment is not cheap!

Security preparation is still underway — surveillance cameras and possibly a key card lock to replace the current button code. All to ensure that KURE doesn’t need to replace more equipment in the near future.

A pack of liberal disc jockeys in the middle of a conservative campus doing whatever they can to produce quality entertainment — this is volunteer radio at work, but it is denied the credit that it deserves. Yet, KURE lives on.

“You are listening to Ames Alternative, 88.5 KURE. KURE is a student-run and operated radio station, looking for a little campus support …”

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Andrew Seitz is junior in drawing, painting and printmaking from Dyersville.