WUSC executive staff responded by publicly criticizing Carroll and the University administration through WUSC, The Daily Gamecock student newspaper and other local media outlets. As a result, the executive staff was removed by Jerry Brewer and Chris Carroll, and the station was operated solely by Carroll. The station remained off the air for a brief period before resuming under new leadership and DJs selected by the Board of Student Publications. (A few DJs returned to the station from before, but many were either not invited to return or left in protest.) Before the new executive staff was selected, the DJs were allowed to play what they wanted, resulting in Top 40 music being aired on the station. However, once in power, the new staff returned to the prior music policy. But the damage had been done, and the station was also dropped as a reporter to CMJ, which charts college radio airplay. Since Carroll's departure in 1997, the station has moved back towards its alternative/underground format, which had the station listed in some music journals as one of the top five college stations in the United States. References External links WUSC-FM's official site USC-FM USC Radio stations established in 1977 Mass media in Columbia, South Carolina