Keeping up with the quickly merging world of television and telecommunications, the University of California has increased UCTV coverage to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The 24-hour channel is part of a joint UC venture pioneered by UCSD to provide the public with documentaries, faculty lectures, research symposiums and artistic performances from all 10 of the UC campuses.

Through UCTV, the UC system hopes to present science concepts, research and medical breakthroughs, such as the discoveries by Nobel laureates at UCSB, said Ray Tracy, production services manager of Instructional Resources at UCSB.

“The channel is broadcast to a large public audience all over the United States, providing them with quality programming that looks at a variety of issues from many different perspectives,” he said. “Speakers like Elaine Brown from the Black Panthers and Dr. Hanan Mikhail Ashrawi allow you to look at uncensored political issues that are highly controversial.”

UCSB has only been producing programming for UCTV for about a year and a half. Tracy works with 30 UCSB students and three cameras in taping and editing 12 programs a quarter, equally divided between the arts and other programs. Currently, his staff is investigating ways for students to make and air programs or documentaries.

“I’d like to see student projects, but I think they would only be allowed if they followed the time and content formats that UCTV currently follows,” Tracy said. “Personally, I think there ought to be room for student projects, because they would be a positive way to open up yet another dimension to UCTV programming.”

– Medea Torres