The Student Government Association will vote on Hawkstream Radio’s budget at the end of this month, according to co-manager of Hawkstream Radio Chris Vickery. The radio station has applied for the standard $500 that every campus organization is eligible to receive. If the budget is approved, Hawkstream Radio will put the money toward purchasing a broadcasting license, which will allow them to play 155 hours of music a week.

Hawkstream Radio will purchase the license from SoundExchange. The license will cost $625 initially and $600 every year to renew. Vickery said he hopes they will have the license around March.

If the SGA does not approve their budget, Vickery said the radio staff has other ideas to raise the money. They plan to send DJs out to parties and get money from sponsors. They have been compiling a list of local Wilmington businesses who might be interested in sponsoring the radio in exchange for ad time. Vickery also said that donations are welcome. Whenever the radio representatives are at the events on campus, they usually put out a donation tin. “Every little bit helps,” Vickery said. “We’ve even planned bake sales.”

The radio will also use these methods to raise the remaining $125 toward the license, since they were too late to request additional funding from the SGA. Hawkstream Radio had been planning to submit a Capital Expenditure Funding Request Form, or CapEx, for additional money, but the previous president of the station graduated last semester. According to Vickery, he has had to learn how to do everything “on the fly,” and for that reason missed this semester’s deadline for the CapEx form.

According to Vickery, Hawkstream Radio has all of the equipment and software they need. The only thing they lack is the broadcasting license. A year and a half ago, someone forgot to renew it. Coordinator of Student Media Bill DiNome has been working with Hawkstream to get it back on track ever since.

Vickery isn’t confident the SGA will approve their budget since the SGA and Student Media haven’t been too impressed with the program “due to a lack of involvement and steady management,” and they might rather see the money go to other programs.

Despite this, Vickery said, “We’ll get the license. That you can be sure of,” but until then, he will be “treading water.” After that, he hopes the radio station will get involvement and everything will “snowball.” Involvement is what the radio needs most, according to Vickery.

Freshman Ashley Mitchell was disappointed upon going to Hawkstream Radio’s website to discover nothing playing. This license could possibly improve that situation. With enough support, Vickery says the radio would consider getting an FM or AM band.