USI graduate Lauren Leslie painted the yellow backdrop that coats the current SETV12 "Access USI" studio more than six years ago.
Today, the same dried paint and background pictures of campus assembled by Leslie, and other former students, has been utilized by many radio and television program students.
The 2012 radio and television graduate said she always knew she wanted to be a television news anchor.
That dream became a reality in March when Leslie was named anchor of the Evansville CBS and FOX affiliate Channel 44 WEVV-TV News at Noon, 5 and 6 p.m. She served as a reporter for three years prior.
Leslie vividly remembers her two and a half years working at Access USI which began when she went to her first meeting in fall of 2009.
Leslie faced a few obstacles while working at Access USI.
She said SETV12's Program Director David Black takes a very laissez-faire approach when working with the program.
"He is very hands off, (he) let the students do what they want to do, (and) that can be a good thing and can also be a challenging thing because he should act as the news director in my opinion," Leslie said.
Leslie said Black's hands-off approach "absolutely" affected the production of the show.
Leslie said she thinks the program needs an overhaul.
Leslie said USI prepared her for her future career.
"But you have to equip your students to become the best journalists they can be, and I'm not sure where the ball is being missed there, because I think Dr. Black knows a lot about what he is doing, but he has got to be in the studio more that's the bottom line," Leslie said.
She said that Black is simply an old-school guy.
"The kids that are coming in now are all millennials and you learn in a different way and do things in a different way," she said.
Leslie said that young journalists need someone who is going to fire them up.
Senior Travis Onyett has worked at Access USI since 2017 and currently serves as the technical director for the program.
The radio and television major said he was always told to get as much experience as possible which led him to USI's campus television station.
Onyett said he has seen a "couple" issues where the switcher would not work and they could not run a show.
"We have a server in the playback room that crashes a lot if it's not exported in the right format," he said.
Onyett said the software is very old but does work for the most part.
He said he also takes issue with a somewhat absent adviser to the program.
"I do think that's because of (Dr. Black's) lack of knowledge in some aspects of the TV side," he said.
Onyett said overall Black does a good job just maintaining the station.
He said he understands that funding is only part of the issue.
Senior Ann Powell prepares herself every Wednesday to produce, anchor and edit Access USI.
The radio and television and journalism major has worked at SETV since she was a freshman.
Powell said she could be receiving much more experience.
Powell said an issue with equipment arises about once a month or less.
On top of dated equipment, she said there is another underlying problem with the program.
Powell said that equipment is the main issue.
Senior John Simone said that SETV12 has prepared him for the future.
The radio and television major and operations and show director for SETV12 said based on conversations with Black, many of these improvements are not that far away.
Simone said he has also learned a lot about how to manage and motivate people.
Access USI is one of just two designated public forums on campus, meaning it is free from administrative control.
Black has been with the university since 1998 and advising Access USI since it was created.
The assistant professor of radio and television said SETV was originally located in the old technology center before the communications department moved into the current Liberal Arts Center after its completion in 1999.
"We did not have money for equipment, so we stayed (in the technology center) until we found it, and so we found the funding to get this facility equipped, but that was going to take a five year period or so as far as the money being given out," Black said.
He said the quality of the old setup was not good.
Black said he knew they would not end up moving all of the older equipment into the new LA.
"We started equipping (the new facility) and at the time high definition was established in broadcasting but it wasn't really covered across the country. It was still developing and spreading out so we couldn't afford that, and there was really no reason to do it in the sense that our outlet was going to be channel 12," Black said.
The first scheduled date for an Access USI show was in 2001. Black said he used his advanced studio production class to get the program moving.
Black said he does not remember why, but at some point, he made the decision to change the format to a full newscast.
Black said when it comes to technology, there are many different directions about what there could be or ought to be.
SETV is broadcast in standard definition, but the technical environment has been made to support a digital output.
Black said SETV converted its standard definition aspect from a 4×3 ratio to a 16×9 format, which meant purchasing new monitors and equipment.
"That was really big, but now that there is streaming and online presence there is a need for high definition," he said.
He said the issue at hand for going high definition would simply be the funding, but he has yet to propose going HD because other purchases must be made first.
"We have field cameras that we need to get and we are getting into mobile video so we'll have to buy equipment for that," Black said.
He said he plans on having a proposal by the end of the semester.
"That would be for fall 2019, but won't include high definition," he said.
Black said the 360 playback server will need to be repurchased at some point.
Black has a program director release for managing the studio and other video-related needs. Among his many duties, he is responsible for coordinating the programming of SETV12 and acting as adviser for Access USI and managing other productions as they develop.
The Scripps-Howard Video Complex has a total budget of $6,500 in 2017-2018 according to the university's annual operating budget. There was a $2,525 drop in funding for personal expenses from the 2016-2017 approved budget.
The Spin's 2017-2018 budget of more than $84,000 is 13 times larger than SETV's, and The Shield's 2017-2018 budget of $67,412 is more than 10 times larger.
Those funds are far less than the two other campus media outlets, the student-run radio station WSWI 95.7 The Spin and the university's student publication, The Shield.
The budget differences are reflective of other items and certain distinctions in the budget for The Spin and The Shield. The Spin, which is licensed to the university's Board of Trustees, must comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidelines in addition to being an on-air broadcast station regulated by the FCC.
The Shield's main funding goes toward printing the publication and payroll according to student publications adviser Erin Gibson. Workers at The Shield gain experience with compensation. Writers make $10 per story, while editors make $50 per week.
Chair of the Communications Department Sally Vogl-Bauer declined to comment on the matter deferring any further questions regarding funding to Black.
No major changes have been made to the Access studio in its 20-year history.
"Those who have been with USI longer than I don't recall any significant changes to the SETV space since (the) LA was built in 1999," Director of Facilities Operations and Planning Jim Wolfe said.
Black said he believes the two other campus media outlets, 95.7 The Spin and The Shield, do a good job with news coverage. He said, however, that there is a difference with Access USI in that it's one program that is part of a larger operation of Channel 12.
Black said Access USI does not encompass the same function the other student media outlets on campus provide.
Black said he has been in touch with his engineer about a streaming system, but there is currently no permanent solution.
Black said the current studio cameras are HD, but the mainstay studio would need to make the jump into the updated setting.
He said it is important to get a streaming capability started especially with the advancement of technology.
Channel 12, which broadcasts in standard definition, has been Access USI's primary form of transmission.