Max Shea had been a part of UMass Amherst radio station WMUA 91.1 starting in 1993 — when he was an undergraduate student at UMass — until April 21, when he was escorted from campus by UMass police, banned from returning, and his beloved show, Martian Gardens, was permanently terminated.
Thing is, Shea says no one has explained what happened or what he did to provoke that action — though he has a hunch it may be a generational thing. When a group of Millenials zealous about fostering a politically correct work environment and an old radio-hand who likes to play devil’s advocate are crammed together into close quarters, missunderstandings will almost inevitably arise.
Shea is known nationwide for the show, in which he mixed contemporary classical, electronic, and experimental music. “His programming is highly unusual both in [its] diversity, its current-ness and his deep understanding of the music he programs — one of the few still contributing in this way to our national musical culture,” reads a letter to Advocate editors from Annea Lockwood, composer and emerita professor at Vassar College. This letter is one of several passionate communications the paper received this week regarding Martian Garden’s cancellation. And they weren’t just coming from the Valley — they came from all over the country; we even got one from France.
Despite the blow to the music world, the station and the university have been tight-lipped. Station officials issued no statement and have been sparse on details in the days since Shea was escorted from campus and handed a letter that said he was in “violation of WMUA’s Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy,” then told that his station membership was “permanently revoked,” that a no-trespass order had been issued, and his show had been “permanently terminated.” The letter makes no detailed allegations, nor does it refer to any specific incidents.
Shea wasn’t the only one to feel the heat of the student-run station. The letter states the decision to oust Shea was made “by a two-thirds majority” at the WMUA Executive Committee level. That two-thirds majority — WMUA General Manager Andrew DesRochers and Programmer Haley Chauvin, both undergraduate students — signed the letter. The remaining third of the Executive Committee was the station advisor, a full-time, non-student position formerly held by Glenn Siegel. It is unclear what Siegel’s current status is, though in an email shared by the Daily Collegian, DesRochers informs others at the station that Annemarie Seifert is “temporarily fulfilling the role of station advisor for Glenn Siegel.” That email is dated April 22. In an interview with the Advocate, Shea said Siegel had been suspended.
Siegel declined to comment for this article noting only that he feels like he’s been “caught in the crosshairs.”
Ed Blaguszewski, a spokesperson for the university, said last Friday that Siegel “assumed new duties in the division of Student Affairs and Campus Life.”
Blaguszewski declined to offer further detail on Shea’s ban from campus. “In regard to personnel matters, those details aren’t typically shared with the public,” Blaguszewski said.
Shea said he feels bullied by the young students at the station, and that this all boils down to him being that “weird old guy” at the studio.
Shea said the ordeal likely stems from an incident in February when Chauvin, then the news director, was having a “boisterous conversation about rape culture” in the WMUA office.
“Some people will always deny rape culture exists,” Shea recalled interjecting. Shea said Chauvin was upset by this. Shea said he promptly stopped talking. “I put my hands up to signify I was out of the conversation,” Shea said. He said he himself was not denying rape culture exists. Later that week, he said, Chauvin and Siegel called a meeting with him, during which Shea apologized for the misunderstanding.
Chauvin was elected programmer on April 13, said Shea, and a week later he was banned. Chauvin declined to comment.
Shea said he’s looking for a lawyer, but he’s “a man of meager means,” which makes it difficult.
Shea said the past year has been wrought with tension between himself and the “current crop of students.” His presence at the station, he said, won him so many dirty looks he began avoiding times he knew Chauvin and the others would be around, saving his work for odd hours in the evening.
“I was not welcome among their clique,” Shea said. “They’re not in the 10th grade anymore — their decisions have impacts on people’s’ lives.”
He said he “knew trouble was brewing” when, this winter, his CD cleaning kit — which included razor blades and lighter fluid — disappeared from the studio. When he asked DesRochers about the kit, Shea said he was told the implements “triggered” others at the station. DesRochers did not respond to Advocate requests for comment.
Shea refers to a history of tension between students and community members involved with WMUA. He said students often feel a sense of entitlement to the station, but he offers a reminder that the fund drive — a community matter — pays for a big portion of the station’s budget.
“It’s a philosophical contention we’ve always had,” Shea said. “There’s always been a kind of reconciliation. I don’t think these students ever really understood that.”
Shea said he understands why university officials take allegations seriously, but that more investigation should have been done before he was ousted. “If they can do this to me they can do this to anyone,” Shea said. “For all their talk about diversity, they were all too quick to get rid of someone they saw was different.”
Shea said WMUA has long felt like home, and he misses the vast library of music he built at the station and without a space to air his esoteric music. “WMUA has always been there,” Shea said. “You carve out a niche in the world where you can be yourself, and all of a sudden you’re cast out for no reason.”
He hopes things will get sorted out, somehow, and that everyone involved can all “walk away, shake hands, and be happy with one another.” And, obviously, he’d like his show back.•
Contact Amanda Drane at adrane@valleyadvocate.com.
