The number of clubs on West Chester’s campus is endless. The Quad offers students the opportunity to write articles on a weekly basis, there are numerous Greek organizations to choose from, and there are organizations dedicated to majors, such as accounting, art, history, etc. One of the clubs that stuck out to me, however, was the radio show.
The idea of it is really something great – the opportunity to get air time over a station that the entire campus listens to. It gives students the opportunity to start a show about anything they would like to talk about: sports, news, talk, music, and so on.
Many of my friends host sports talk shows, as well as music channels which is how I became interested in it originally. The idea of being able to play my own music that I love over the air and have other people listen to it got me so excited to get started. Before a student can have their show, they must pass a number of tests, as well as participate in a number of “sit-ins,” or just watching a show in action.
The sit-ins are very exciting, as you get to sit in the studio and see everything behind the scenes. Working with the equipment and technology can be intimidating at first, but it is easy to understand, especially with the multitude of helpful staff and students there dedicated to making the experience a great one and getting one acquainted with everything.
The radio show operates on a format of “time slots,” letting students start out with a two hour window to play whatever they would like, giving the opportunity to increase that time slot depending on how their channel does.
Don’t think that no one listens to the stations either – popular spots like Culinary Deliveries and many of the professors listen to 91.7 WCUR and give constant praise.
Overall, the radio station initiation, as well as what I can see from the sit-ins and other observations, is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience in the end, and I cannot wait to see how it plays out.
Alex Libutti is a second-year student majoring in communications with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at AL803657@wcupa.edu.