Colgate Can Handle CUTV’s Risqu?e Progamming

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to last issue’s article titled, “CUTV and Maroon-News, Shock Value Too Important,” by Kristin Koch. Having been an active member of CUTV since my first-year and having been elected to take over as General Manager of the station next year, I feel obligated to clear up some of the misconceptions about our programming that Miss Koch seems to have. First of all I would like to say that neither I nor any other CUTV members have any knowledge of Miss Koch’s involvement with our station or any of our shows aside from an e-mail received earlier this semester requesting to be an on-air reporter. In light of that fact, I don’t believe that her use of “my fellow CUTV staff” and “we” to criticize the station was appropriate.Second, I would like to address the specific show that Miss Koch was referring to. Undoubtedly her virgin ears fell upon a discussion contained in an old episode of Booty Call, a show that has not produced new material for two years but that we still air on occasion because of its entertainment value.The feeling that I got from her letter is that she is extremely misinformed and uneducated about CUTV. The majority of shows and programming that we air are not like Booty Call, we air recent movies, Colgate sporting events, student produced soap operas, video countdown shows, sports shows, and news shows – to name a few. We take great strides not to censor shows that our members produce, and we feel that this freedom is extremely important. While the content may not be what some would like to see, it allows students to learn valuable television production skills while making a show about a topic of their choice, ensuring their dedication to it. Truth be told, employers are probably not going to want to watch the show you made during college, but they will want to see that you have experience using professional grade equipment while demonstrating leadership skills as the producer of your own show.Miss Koch also seemed to be concerned about the tarnished reputations of those appearing on our station while amongst fellow students and professors. Having personally appeared in some risqu?e programming, I can speak from experience when I say that other students are generally not going to harass you for something you say on CUTV. Furthermore, the majority of professors and staff do not receive CUTV because it is closed circuit, and shown only on campus. President Chopp on the other hand, does receive and watch CUTV, and to the best of my knowledge takes most of our programming in stride, including a certain Harry Potter reference on Gateline. One further point that I must make revolves around Miss Koch’s references to HBO. If she had watched CUTV in the past 2 1/2 years she would know that we have shown entire seasons of HBO shows including the Sopranos, Band of Brothers, and yes, cover your ears, that smutty show Sex and the City. Therefore, in certain respects we have indeed provided HBO to students for free. I hope that this has cleared up some of the confusion that Miss Koch had. We at CUTV are always open to comments and criticism, and hope that in the future no one hesitates to contact us.

Tim Hogarth ’06