When you walk around the campus, you can hear many things. The sound of Students is commonplace, but alongside it, you can often find the sounds of the student radio. It’s commonplace to hear in the social spaces of the college, or in some of the hallways. If you stop to listen to it, you can hear many different genres, from jazz to conventual pop. A lot of it is selected by the students, either submitted by the general student population, or curated by the students who run it. The best example of this can be found during certain hours of the week, where a particular student or group take over the radio waves for an hour or so, and play their own list of songs. They aren’t too common, but always a nice shake up. One such example can be heard on Tuesdays, from Noon to One PM. “Days with the Moon,” ran by Tyler Daugherty, aka “DJ Moondog”, is a student at the college, and his station plays a nice mix of quote, “…Rock and Metal from the 60s all the way to the 90s…”.

But it’s not all just music. On occasion, he’ll pull out the mic and talk about a few topics related to the genres. “…I like to talk about facts and history related to rock and metal, …current tour dates, current news going on in the rock world, and things like that.” It brings an element of personality to the show, as you get to hear a little bit of the interests from the person running it, adding a bit more interest as you feel more personally engaged in the show itself. “My favorite song is ‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zepplin” – Quote from Tyler. During the interview, he talked extensively about how accessible the student radio is. “What’s really cool about it is, anyone can be a DJ here. You don’t need any experience… …you can start your own show, you can play whatever kind of music you like, and talk about whatever you like…”

It says a lot about the amount of hands-on experience a student can gain from the college. The media department is filled with opportunities like this, with studios for  Shows, Podcasts, Radio, and more, all available to the students to produce for themselves or the college, getting their hands dirty whichever field they want to go in. It’s an exceptional way to fill out your portfolio, or get more confident with the tools and skills you’d need. “…and that’s what’s really cool about this student run radio station, because it allows you an environment where it’s ok to make those mistakes, and you can improve upon yourself…”

 
 

Randall Garner

Student Writer - Fall 2024

This was written for DIG 2151: Writing for Media.