Mike Hutmacher

Audio-Radio Production is considered to be a fairly difficult course by most standards. The technical aspects can be tedious and confusing for many, and for a blind student the obstacles can be quite discouraging.

But one blind student considers the obstacles a challenge.

Gary Gregory, a junior majoring in administration of justice and speech communications, said the only possible difficulty he anticipates is a lack of time to learn the location of various controls.

Tuesday Handicap Services equipped the audio control console with Braille stickers so that Gregory and other visually impaired students could learn the functions of the unit, such as volume and balance controls.

Gregory, who was born blind, took “Introduction to Audio-Radio Production” during the fall semester of 1978, but wasn’t able to memorize the control console and keep up with class assignments at the same time, so he had to drop the class.

Gregory said he doesn’t know how difficult the course will be for him because the school’s facilities are different than his own equipment at home. But if he has access to the control room with the new braille markings he said he should be able to learn to use the equipment without too much difficulty.

Gregory said he’s always been interested in sound equipment. In 1974 he worked as a disc jockey for a small club in Kansas City for six months while attending school at Northwest Missouri State. He still does recording at home on his own stereo system.

After he graduates from Wichita State University, Gregory said he plans to go to law school and record for a record company part time.