I’m a big fan of music; I always have been.

I listen to everything from punk rock to jazz and, yes, I can even tolerate a little country here and there.

I’m sorry to report this, but I’m just a little disappointed with the University’s radio station – not with the fact that it plays classical music, but with the fact that it plays almost nothing but classical music 24 hours every day.

88.7 KXMS, Fine Arts International, is licensed as a classical radio station to the Board of Governors of Missouri Southern.

I’ve spoken with many students on campus about this, and I was surprised to find out that many students don’t even know we have a station. If it wasn’t for my one-year stint in Blaine Hall with an antenna-less stereo, I might have never known about KXMS either. It was the only station my quality stereo would receive.

The students that do know of the station, not to my surprise, agree that the format of KXMS lacks anything of interest to them. Let’s face it. Classical music can be great, and studies even show that it makes babies smarter, but it’s of little interest to most students.

This “University” has a student-run newspaper, a student-run television station and a few student-run magazines. The radio station, however, is anything but student-run. Sure, students sometimes work the control room and get to say a few words on the air, but most of what I hear is satellite fed. The students have no say in what is sent out over the airwaves.

I think it’s time for this institution to make that next step toward that of most universities and adopt a student-run radio station.

If we had a truly student-run radio station, I believe it would help unite the campus community and give the campus more of a “university” feel.

The station could feature student musicians, as well as local talent. Along the lines of the University’s international focus, the station could have designated world music hours where it would play everything from salsa to Indian pop music. This would not only benefit the students but I feel it would be a great asset to Joplin as well.

The student audience doesn’t want to listen to music chosen by the Missouri Southern Board of Governors, as exciting as it is. A campus radio station run by students and playing the kind of music of interest to the student population does not seem like too much to ask.