WKDI, the student-run campus radio station, dropped out of the running for the 94.9 FM frequency after the law firm pursuing the application recommended doing so.

WKDI is only available on cable in the NIU residence halls and can be purchased on cable in DeKalb.

WKDI Faculty Adviser Mike Lazar said the station, which was the only non-commercial applicant for the frequency, decided to withdraw its application and accept buy-out offers for the application from two other radio frequency hopefuls.

The Federal Communications Commission failed to grant WKDI attorneys’ requests to enlarge the criteria for the frequency consideration and disallow amendments made to two other applications after they originally were filed. This caused the attorneys to make the withdrawal recommendation, Lazar said.

To continue the application process would be a “risk not prudent to take,” he said.

Second City Broadcasting, from Milwaukee Wis., and Tana Knetsch, from DeKalb, each offered WKDI $6,000 if WKDI would withdraw its application. The money is payable only if one of the two hopefuls receive the frequency, he said.

The third applicant is Adlai Stevenson IV. Lazar does not believe Stevenson will receive the frequency because Stevenson does not meet the requirement of “integration.” This requirement asks the owner/operator to reside in the area of the signal transmission. Lazar said he believed Stevenson resides in Chicago.

Stevenson also has an application pending in Mahomet, Ill., near Champaign, and has said he will meet the integration requirements there, Lazar said.

The decision to accept one of the buy-out offers was made after consulting with Jon Dalton, NIU vice president for student affairs, and the Student Association executive board, he said.

WKDI filed the FM frequency application in August 1987 after the FCC allocated the frequency to DeKalb.

In the event that Second City Broadcasting or Tana Knetsch receives the frequency, the $6,000 paid to WKDI under the buy-out agreement will be used to reimburse the SA, he said.

The SA allocated about $4,700 to WKDI, authorizing the station to transfer $2,300 within its budget to pay for legal expenses incurred in the application process, Lazar said. Total expenses are expected to be between $6,000 and $7,000, he said.

Legal fees are expensive since the Arter and Hadden Law Firm in Washington D.C. specializes in communication law. The law firm has many attorneys on different hourly rates working on the application process, he said.

Lazar said the average hourly rate charged by the law firm for the application process is $109.59. He said there is no reason to doubt the integrity of the law firm and that he has worked with them since 1983 through WNIU.

To continue the application until February, when the frequency will be awarded, might “easily” cost $50,000, he said.