This month marks the 85th anniversary of the College radio station, WRUC.
In 1920, Union students used makeshift equipment in a shed behind the electrical engineering lab to broadcast 27 minutes of music through the airwaves – widely considered the first scheduled radio broadcast in the country.
The “first station in the nation” continues to provide commercial free, student-run radio, featuring everything from jazz and rock to news and sports, on 89.7 FM and through its streaming Internet feed.
In the spring, the station moved into its new studio, the “WRUCkus Room,” in Reamer Campus Center. The glass-encased facility is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment, with thousands of songs programmed into a computer and external speakers broadcasting into the Dutch Hollow dining area. Records line the walls of the studio, along with posters of rock legends, from Jimi Hendrix to Kurt Cobain. A colorful new WRUC sign hanging in the window also reflects the fresh feel of the new space.
“The new studio is a great way to get the campus community to notice our shows,” says Peter Wilson '07, a third-year disc jockey who hosts the rock-and-roll show, “Intensive Care Unit.” “There's nothing better than looking out into the Campus Center and seeing people move to your music.”
“Pete and I keep alive the independent spirit of college radio,” said Intensive Care's Ross Marvin '07, also a third-year DJ. “When we first walked into the station, we felt as if we had died and gone to heaven. The station's a great opportunity for students to get hands-on broadcasting experience.”
WRUC will mark its milestone during Homecoming Weekend with a cocktail reception on Saturday, Oct. 24, on the Reamer Campus Center patio – music included, of course.