As soon as a contract agreement is reached with the Black Entertainment Network, the NIU community will find a whole new range of television programming on cable channel six. Entertainment options will be enriched for all who give the network a chance—and without damaging the quality of the broadcast journalism program.

The original proposal to bring the BET to NIU entailed airing the network on channel eight, the university cable channel which serves in part as a learning laboratory for broadcast journalism students. The plan set two important objectives on a collision course, but the final proposal has eliminated concerns on both sides.

There is no doubt NIU has a scarcity of activities available for minority students. The predominantly white DeKalb community, set as it is in the middle of the northern Illinois cornfields, does not have the long tradition of racial and cultural diversity found in large urban centers. And the university has, of course, had its share of problems with racial tension.

The university administration is getting a good start on addressing some of the major concerns of minority students. Bringing the BET to campus is one attempt being made to remedy the shortage of activities targeting minority students. And the Discrimination Hotline has been set up through the Ombudsman’s Office to help address problems of racial and other types of discrimination.

The original plan to put the BET on channel eight created concerns that the broadcast journalism program would be hurt. The channel provides a forum for student-produced programming, ranging from newscasts to talk shows, giving students invaluable experience in preparing for broadcasting careers.

Many students in the program came to NIU specifically because of the quality of the facilities at channel eight. But the BET was likely to push the student programming off the air, thus leaving these students with a program inferior to the one which brought them here.

Whoever was responsible for working the change to channel six did a remarkable job of finding a way to serve both interests. Now, instead of having to trade one valuable program for another, NIU can have both. It’s rare that everyone comes out a winner—and this is one case where it is particularly gratifying.