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Steven Price doesn't have much left except for his voice.
Now, he is not so sure he can achieve a radio career after a series of events starting with attendance problems caused by a bad hip.
He is moving forward with a grievance he filed against the radio-television-film department, but feels he is getting nowhere.
The problems in the department and at KSYM are "systemic," he said, and his case is not an isolated incident of unfair treatment of students.
"We're older guys trying to get new careers," he said.
He also said the problems students have had with the department may have gotten his friend in trouble with the district's department of public safety.
Price, 48, talks slowly and clearly with a deep, booming voice.
He received many compliments about his voice and decided to give radio a shot.
He described his voice on his Voice 123 profile, a Web site that dubs itself the voice marketplace," as being "warm and deep for narrations, sexy and fun for commercials, smooth and professional for presentations and strong for those commercials that are serious or provocative in nature.
Price also served as a radio operator when he was in the Army.
He came back to school a year ago after leaving a career in human resources to study in the RTF department.
His previous education at this college included being involved in what he called a "hell-raising" student government starting in 1993, when he attained the position of vice president.
Price said student government did a lot in those days with the full support of Dr. Robert Zeigler, then vice president of the college, with whom he had a friendly relationship.
After coming back to this college, Price needed to reflect on those times to give him strength.
He said his main problem was that Mark Watson, his COMM 2303, Audio/Radio Production, instructor, was not treating him and other students fairly.
Watson, Price said, treated students like they were high school kids.
Watson also did not give Price any leeway on attendance, Price said, despite his disability after his right hip was replaced.
It all started when he was late for Watson's class because he was dealing with his car being towed.
He asked Watson to cut him some slack due to his disability.
This kept happening and he was given a letter from Maria Gomez from disability support services instructing Watson to take Price's disability into consideration with regard to attendance.
The letter, however, was not the end of Price's problems.
He again was marked late for not being in his seat on time, and, Price said, Watson came into the KSYM studio booth to yell at Price about his attendance while he was on the air.
Price said he had to cut to a song quickly so Watson would not be on the air.
Embarrassing a student while they were on the radio, Price said, was beyond the pale, and is against KSYM policy.
Matters got worse still.
Price said he was denied any on-air jobs for the summer because of the commotion he was causing about his treatment.
He approached John Onderdonk, the faculty adviser for KSYM, to try and settle the matter in person.
In a taped conversation in May 2007, Onderdonk told Price, "More than one faculty member had reservations about you being on the air."
When Price asked what other faculty members besides Watson complained, Onderdonk would not say.
"I know Mr. Watson wasn't happy with your performance in class," Onderdonk told Price.
Onderdonk said in the taped meeting that Price went about settling the matter with Watson wrong, and should have been more professional.
As far as he knew, Onderdonk said to Price, his on-air performance was fine, but his attitude about his problems with Watson was not professional.
The matter of Price's attendance was not discussed in the meeting.
Onderdonk told Price, "Don't become a victim."
Price decided to file a grievance against the department April 26, 2007.
When asked for comment, Onderdonk said, "I don't talk about grievances."
Zeigler also said he could not comment on Price's situation, saying the grievance process is ongoing and that it is being handled internally.
Vernell Walker, interim dean of professional and technical education, who was one of the people handling Price's grievance, also declined comment.
Price said he was recently denied a position as the pledge drive coordinator because of his grievance. He said the reason he was given for not receiving the position was his attendance, but that not all students are denied positions based on attendance.
There is a term for this in human resources, Price said, "disparate treatment."
The justification given for denying him radio spots does not hold up, Price said.
When he was on the air during the spring 2007 semester, he was on the Friday 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. time slot.
This was an ideal situation because parking was ample during those early hours.
"I was never late to my show," he said.
That he was late to his class because of his disability had no bearing on his ability to perform on the air, he said.
"The reason I can't get to class on time is because you guys don't provide adequate parking in the first place," he said of his attitude toward the department.
He said his options now are running low.
The grievance has not been settled; Price still has not received any more radio spots.
That he has not been allowed on the radio has hurt his prospects for a job as a DJ, he said.
"How much employment opportunities have I been denied because I haven't been allowed on the air?" Price asked.
He is also not likely to be given any letters of recommendation considering his tenuous relationship with the department's faculty, he said.
He is now trying to receive his education in a "hostile learning environment," Price said.
The lack of response prompted Price to file an Office of Civil Rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month on the grounds that he has been discriminated against because of his disability and age.
The OCR form also charges that he was retaliated against for filing the grievance and asserting his rights.
Jim "Scoop" Boyle, a radio-television-film sophomore who is listed as an alternate contact on Price's OCR complaint, said he has experienced problems with the department since he started three years ago.
He echoed Price's assertion that the department favors non-student DJs over students.
"I can't say it enough that KSYM has nothing to do with academics," Boyle said.
Disabled students are disrespected, he said, echoing Price.
He said a disabled student was called "retarded" during a weekly KSYM staff meeting.
Boyle said he also has had problems with Onderdonk, although he did not take them personally.
"We're not on each other's Christmas lists," he said, laughing.
Boyle wrote a letter to The Ranger that was published in the April 4 issue describing what he sees as non-student favoritism.
He said he went to Longwith Radio-Television-Film building March 1 at about 5 a.m. to retrieve a cell phone he left there.
Onderdonk told him later that a security camera caught him on tape in the building and that if anything was amiss, Boyle would be a suspect, Boyle said.
He was given a warning not to do it again.
Just last week, while Boyle was taking a shower, he was visited by district police in regard to him being in the building when he was not allowed.
Boyle said he thinks the incident was used against him after the April 4 Ranger letter.
He has not heard anything to confirm those suspicions, he said.
If legal issues arise, Boyle said, he can provide information that would go against the department, such as accusations of downloading music illegally.
"If they want to open up the can of worms, I'll give them the can opener," he said.
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