Evergreen’s KAOS starts school year with membership drive

The South Sound’s full-time, commercial-free public radio station, KAOS, is launching a membership drive with a goal of raising $10,000.

It’s not much in relation to the station’s annual $200,000 budget, but it will help pay the fees for programs not produced at the station.

“Programs like Democracy Now and Free Speech Radio News cost us money,” general manager Ruth Brownstein said.

The drive kicks off Sept. 25 and ends Oct. 1.

Most of the programming at KAOS, broadcast at 89.3 FM, is produced in the studio on the first floor of the Campus Activity Building, on Red Square at The Evergreen State College.

KAOS offers students an opportunity to get a start in broadcasting, either behind the mic, in the production booth or behind the scenes.

“I’ve felt strongly that we have an obligation to employ students,” Brownstein said. She succeeded in lobbying for money to hire nine students, out of a budget that originally allowed for just five.

Student employees can work as many as 19 hours a week and make $10 to $10.50 an hour. Internships also are an option, Brownstein said.

Students aren’t the only ones who can participate at KAOS. The station is open to the community and offers training to newcomers. The next training begins Oct. 6. The training is two hours once a week for six weeks, said Morgan Jaffe, training and operations manager. The fee is $75, and cash-strapped trainees can apply to donate time to have the fee waived.

What does it take to be on the air?

“I think any voice is good for the air,” Brownstein said. “You need to be able to read. It helps if you can articulate. Most important is a good attitude. And a thick skin.”

The origins of the call letters are commonly attributed to license applicant Dean Katz’s fondness for the TV show “Get Smart,” but the truth is more prosaic. Katz applied for the call letters KESC (for Evergreen State College) but those letters were not available. The options presented by the FCC were KAOS and KEEF, Brownstein said. Katz chose KAOS.

When things get chaotic at the station, Brownstein said, “I ask, ‘Do we have to earn our call letters every day?’”

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Evergreen’s KAOS starts school year with membership drive."