Tonight will mark the debut of “The Luoluo Show” airing on the University of Wisconsin’s own radio station, WSUM-FM 91.7. The weekly program will be the first featuring a UW administrator.
Dean of Students Luoluo Hong will discuss campus news through selected topics and provide students the opportunity to voice their concerns by phoning in their questions. The show is scheduled to air Mondays from 5-6 p.m.
“My goals for the show are to provide a forum for communication with students that is accessible so that students can become more familiar with the Dean of Students Office and so that our staff can get a better sense of students’ lives, needs, concerns, etc.,” Hong said.
Today’s show will give students a chance to become better acquainted with their relatively new Dean of Students. Hong began serving as UW’s Dean of Students last November and previously served as Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Shepard College in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Specific topics to be covered in today’s show include a review of Hong’s first months on the job, her background and philosophy, and an open discussion regarding the tragic death of student Mark Mueller on Jan. 1.
UW senior Katie Harbath is producing and hosting the show, but gives full credit to Dean Hong for coming up with the idea for the program. Harbath is hoping the show will “allow students a chance to air their concerns and see what she [Hong] thinks about issues and what she’s doing to try to solve them.” She added that the show is an excellent way for students to say what is worrying them and allow Hong to become more accessible.
Harbath and Hong are hoping to cover a wide range of topics over the course of the semester and place no limit on the direction that each show takes.
“We will be setting the agenda for each show one week prior, which will allow us to focus on current campus issues or on issues which affect student life in general,” Hong said. “Obviously, if callers want to go in a different direction, we’re open to that as well.”
Possible topics to be covered in future shows include campus climate, student drinking, financial stressors, relationships and violence. Hong is hoping students will call in and respond to these topics as well as voice other concerns.
“I think this show is a good idea,” UW freshman Naomi Siegel said. “It is a good opportunity for students to voice their concerns and give their opinions.”
Harbath added that students’ phone calls can essentially shape the show and that the specific topics are only guidelines to go by.
“I’m hoping that students will want to call in to express their views, as well as engage in constructive dialogue about some of the issues that affect their experiences here at UW,” Hong said. “I imagine students may also be calling in when a ‘hot issue’ is brewing on campus to see what the dean has to say about things, too!”
