From the U-Pass to WCSB: The CSU College Democrats Stand Up for the Student Voice

By Cael Shaw 2L JD/MPA, President of the Cleveland State College Democrats

October 2025 saw a drastic change to CSU’s on-campus culture, the starkest change I have seen in the four years I have been here – CSU Administration completely folded 89.3 WCSB into Ideastream Public Media after 50 years on the air.

  As the CSU College Democrats, we believe in supporting interesting and independent public media, community engagement, and programming that uplifts the voices of students from Cleveland to our partners at Florida State University in Tallahassee and beyond. 

  Let’s be clear, we do not oppose public media nor should we be attacking public media in a time like this. But this deal, and the process by which it was made raises some flags in the eyes of the College Democrats – especially after our fight to bring back the RTA U-Pass this semester.

The Contract

  For those who don’t know, this operating agreement between CSU Administration and Ideastream Public Media began on Oct. 3, 2025 for an eight-year contract, renewable by default where Ideastream immediately took control over the operations of WCSB while CSU retained the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license – as reported on by Signal Cleveland. No purchase money was exchanged between the two entities. Instead, as consideration, CSU will receive perks: 1,000 ‘underwriting’ mentioned or promotional spots per year on WCSB, WCLV, WVIZ, no set number but a rather lose commitment to prioritize CSU students for paid and for-credit internships, and CSU President Bloomberg will be seated on Ideastream’s Board of Trustees.

The Push Back

  WCSB was beloved for its music diversity, contributions to Cleveland’s hidden music scene, and for giving all students a platform to be creative – something we are starting to lack more and more of as a country.  Essentially, WCSB was a bottom-up media organization, and the Cleveland community loved it. Turning it over to Ideastream may be good for public media but it is not good for student creativity.

  WCSB did more than serve students, it helped weave the very fabric of Cleveland’s music scene. Our city is world-renowned for its arts scene, including music. The city of Rock and Roll is now home to a defunct radio station that played all sorts of variations of rock and roll… to put it immaturely; “Make it make sense.”

The Worrisome Process

  The former WCSB staff (hereinafter ‘XCSB’), alumni, students, student organizations, etc. were essentially blindsided by this deal. Similarly, we woke up one morning to an email saying the RTA U-Pass partnership had come to an end and another day we woke up to a Cleveland.com article saying CSU is cutting 22 academic programs including PhD programs at a top 5 school in the country for Public Policy programs. 

  When the CSU College Democrats stood up for the U-Pass, and won, we prioritized ensuring that students are in the room where it happens – sort of speak. In regard to the XCSB community, they were not considered until the deal had already been reached. We opine that the XCSB students should have been in the room during these conversations. We believe that Levin College Students should have been in the room during the conversations to cut Urban-related programs. We believe that students should have been in the room during the initial conversations to get rid of CSU’s partnership with RTA. We are happy and excited that CSU College Democrats will be in the room during further RTA-related discussions.

  We saw the will of the students trampled during this saga with WCSB. This kind of opacity is exactly what the CSU College Democrats argued against. It ultimately undermines institutional trust. If the deal was truly a good idea, or at least if the administration thought it was, then they should have welcomed meaningful scrutiny, not hide from it.

  Further, Ideasteam claims they will ‘prioritize’ internships or projects. That is not the same as guaranteeing any sort of position or program. Without any binding commitment or enforcement mechanisms, this type of agreement would make Professor Kalir very angry! These promises risk becoming rhetorical placation for an otherwise transactional agreement to put advertisements out there and give CSU Admin a seat on their Board of Trustees.

  CSU has set a dangerous precedent. Giving up one student publication, whether it is the radio station or not, suggests that it has the means to do it again to the Gavel, the Cauldron, and the Vindicator. In April of 2023, I wrote to the CSU Cauldron Newspaper a letter titled, A Love Letter to Student Publications, where I said;

“I am forever thankful to student publications for providing a voice to the students. You take the right and power of the First Amendment and you run with it. You run like the wind, being a watchdog for our school, giving the students honestly reported news in a relevant and intelligent manner. You take something beautiful like the First Amendment and turn it into something extraordinary. 

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You do so much for us and in return, we present to you this letter. We, the student body of Cleveland State University, listen. We read. We share. We love you. “

  CSU Claims to value things like community, urbanism, and student opportunity – This WCSB deal seems to privilege institutional branding and exposure over the will of the students. Public media is not monolithically villainous; the CSU College Democrats respects and supports the mission of trusted public radio and television like NPR, Ideastream, etc. We repeatedly say that we stand with PBS, Elmo, and the rest of Sesame Street. But when the University turns over a student media outlet without seeking out a student voice, we must ask who is to gain, who is to lose, and what is weighed more. Is “community” something we experience or is it just a word put on a graph?

  Any institution of higher education or learning that aspires to a mission of critical thought, civic duty, and civic dialogue should steadfastly protect student media platforms – especially during these trying times. Let what happened to WCSB be a moment for critique, rethinking, accountability, and action. We won back our U-Pass, and with City Council’s support it is looking better for WCSB everyday. We are always looking forward to work with CSU Admin and other partners to ensure that student voices are heard. We appreciate President Bloomberg’s effort to ensure that CSU students are in the room for further U-Pass discussions… we ask the same for any decision that would directly impact our fellow Vikings moving forward.

  When student organizations are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back.

In Solidarity,

Cael A. Shaw