Over the course of the last five months, we’ve all learned that entertaining video content can help us survive even the toughest of times. Whether you spend your time scrolling through hours of original content on TikTok, diving shamelessly into the never-ending spiral of YouTube recommended videos or binging the latest Netflix originals, you’ve likely found yourself forgetting, if for only a brief moment, all of the hellish realities we’re forced to face on a daily basis.

In normal times, student-run media outlets at universities across the country aim to offer a range of similar content to their peers year-round. Student-run newspapers and publications print information students want to read, student-run radio stations air sounds students want to hear and student-run television stations produce shows and videos students want to watch. 

But, as the treasurer of the Student Film Society at NC State, a third-year communication media major and an aspiring independent filmmaker, I can say with the utmost confidence that NC State has no worthwhile creative outlet for students to tell stories through producing video content, and it’s high time we changed this. 

Unlike most public universities in North Carolina, NC State still doesn’t have a quality student-run television station that produces creative programming that is both worth watching and reflective of the student body’s diverse interests.

And to be very clear, PackTV, the student-driven, all-Wolfpack sports station and its content, should not be considered quality or worth watching in even the kindest of critiques, and it should not be allowed to serve as NC State’s excuse for a creative video outlet. 

PackTV, an organization that prides itself on exclusively covering university-affiliated, intramural and club sports, has existed since 2008, operating under the names “WolfBytes Sports Television” and “Wolfpack Sports Television,” until finally adopting the all too encompassing name of “PackTV” in 2016. PackTV’s website and YouTube channel showcase a number of shows, some of which appear to have been discontinued, that all revolve around NC State Athletics through incredibly redundant formats and purposes.

Have you ever, in your life, been even remotely interested in the concept of NC State sports? Well, here are eight different shows that all beat the subject to death in the same exact way, with iMovie production quality and less intrigue than a guest info channel on a Motel 6 TV. That’s PackTV, and that’s the closest thing we have to a student-run television station at NC State. To make matters worse, PackTV’s refusal to venture outside of the ridiculously restrictive creative box is an embarrassing flaw during a semester that is witnessing a drastic reduction in the relevance of athletics in the college experience.

While these criticisms of well-meaning students may seem harsh and unwarranted, PackTV’s insistence on creatively limiting their own content has not only turned them off from an entire student body that couldn’t care less about how a club soccer team is performing, but their name and lone presence as a student-run video production outlet on campus suggests that they, and their content, are all that NC State students want and all that NC State can offer. With a name as encompassing as PackTV, to only cover such a niche subject matter as NC State Athletics, is insulting to the intelligence of this student body. This simply can’t suffice. NC State students deserve better. 

This nonsensical absence of a quality, student-run television station at a large public university is an issue almost exclusive to NC State. Examples of well-established student-run television stations include UNC-Chapel Hill’s UNC Student Television, Appalachian State’s AppTV and UNC-Wilmington’s TealTV and Flicker Film Society. Each outlet produces a range of news, entertainment and interest-driven programs that include scripted and unscripted shows with varying styles, formats and production qualities. 

To put it simply: NC State needs a well-funded and well-established student television station that would be supported by the University and NC State Student Media. I believe the people at PackTV should either return to operating under the name of “Wolfpack Sports Television” and stick to only covering sports while a new station grows, or they should drastically consolidate their sports coverage and join the ranks of new creators aiming to produce original and worthwhile programming for the student body. 

NC State is home to a wealth of creative potential that has been squandered and ignored for far too long. It’s time to send PackTV packing and give students the quality media they deserve.

I’m all about solutions, and I’d love to help make NC State Student Media thrive. If you run PackTV or work to produce its content, and you’d like to discuss these thoughts with me, feel free to reach out.  

Editor’s Note: Dumas had a personal relationship with a PackTv student employee.