WKDI’s consideration for its own FM frequency listing might be at risk after the Student Association senate Sunday turned down a $5,000 request in a controversial vote for the station to maintain the use of the United Press International wire service.

The UPI wire service allows the student-run campus radio station to receive news and sports information on the national, state and local levels.

WKDI applied to the Federal Communications Commission for the FM frequency 94.7 in July. The SA senate approved $1,500 for the application fee in October.

WKDI Faculty Adviser Mike Lazar said there are eight radio stations applying for the frequency. He said WKDI’s chances of getting the frequency could be at risk because the radio station no longer will have use of the UPI wire, a qualification the FCC might consider in the application process.

WKDI General Manager Helen Frank said the UPI wire is a “necessity” to the station.

Lazar, also WNIU-FM general manager, said he is confused about the SA’s intentions for the radio station. “Jim Fischer (SA president) and Jon Dalton (vice president for student affairs) worked with us all summer on the application, and the senate funded us for the application.

“Now they’ve (the senators) pulled the rug out from under us,” Lazar said.

Fischer said, “I think it’s important for WKDI to have the wire so they can put out more comprehensive programming. Unfortunately, it’s too late to do anything now.”

The senate voted at Sunday’s meeting to cancel its Dec. 13 meeting and will not meet again until Jan. 24.

The SA finance committee, which studies and recommends budget requests to the senate, asked the senate to vote on the UPI wire budget before Jan. 1, while WKDI still can withdraw from the contract. The remainder of WKDI’s $32,536 budget will come before the senate this spring.

SA Vice President Cam Davis said, “If money is not used to its best potential in one area, you have to move it to another area.” He said the station did not provide any evidence that the FM frequency application could be at risk without the UPI wire service.

WKDI Program Manager Marna Coldwater said SA speaker Tom Zur’s and Treasurer Todd Lipscomb’s reports at Sunday’s meeting concerning the request “distorted the views (of senators) and had a big effect on the outcome of the vote.”

Both Zur and Lipscomb said before the vote the SA was forced to fund the UPI wire contract in the past. The station can operate without the service and the $5,000 could fund many other organizations, they said.

Fischer said about WKDI’s accusations against the reports, “I don’t see that as a big problem.” He said it is the nature of SA senators’ and staff’s roles to state their opinions on what is best for all students.

WKDI entered the UPI five-year joint contract with NIU’s TV-8 and WNIU-FM July 1, 1983, when the senate was not in session. Lipscomb said the contract was signed by the university, WKDI and TV-8 “obligating SA funds (for the WKDI portion) without asking us.”

Weiner said the radio station was forced to enter the contract at that time without approval of the SA in order to have the service for the following year.

WKDI General Manager Helen Frank said WKDI will launch a campaign to retain the wire service. She said employees will protest, rally and petition against the request denial.

WKDI has three newscasts and four sportscasts daily, a half-hour newscast on Saturday and an hour-long sports cast on Sunday.

SA Senator Diana Turowski said WKDI will have to “suffer the repercussions” of having to pull out of the contract early. She said it will cost more for WKDI to attempt to regain the service again in the future.