By Jackson Cooper

The third floor of the Brown Building seems to foster more talent, personality and innovation than any of the past seasons of American Idol and The Voice combined. Its hip staff and DJs walk the hallway like they are working at the best place in the world–to many, it’s just that. Recently, WUAG has been experiencing a series of changes that have pushed the station to reexamine its identity within the UNCG and Greensboro community.

The biggest change has come to its Board of Directors, which is comprised of multiple UNCG students who not only volunteer their time to the station, but also struggle with credit hours, part-time jobs and staying mentally sane through it all.

“There has become a focus now on where we as a station want WUAG to be most present,” Jen Nelson, the General Manager of the station, said in an interview with myself, Program Director Gabriel McNair, and Music Director Diego Vergara. “We are fostering a continuing dialogue with the community and recognizing the importance of relationships with our DJs and the station.” Gabriel went off of that statement to say that, “The involvement of DJs is important to the future of WUAG.”

The DJ’s involvement is a step to bringing in a wider audience. With more variety in programming, DJ’s input—i.e. the different programming ideas they bring to their shows—is what is helping the station form its new direction.

The change in the board came specifically because of the recent departure of Jack Bonney, the longtime General Manager of the station. Bonney was much respected by the employees and the community–even Jeri Rowe of the News and Record wrote a heartfelt profile on him–for his professionalism in building a solid foundation with which WUAG could grow from. He was also WUAG’s first full time General Manager—a first in their 50-year history.

The “Jack Bonney Days” were ones of having a centralized figure for activities that went on at the station. While some of the staff, according to Nelson, reminisce about how wonderful the Jack Bonney Days were, the board is realizing that change must happen.

Additionally, WUAG has changed from becoming a part of the Media Studies Department to being associated with the Student Affairs Office. This change has not brought any uncertainty among the staff. Besides the simple fact that their advisors will no longer be a flight of stairs below them, everything is planned to stay WUAG. Jen and the rest of the staff are optimistic about the future.

“We know that it is going to be a process, but we are optimistic … We need to move forward and what we are focusing on is how can WUAG work to its full capacity with the resources we have.”

So far, it’s been good. WUAG seems to be flourishing more than it ever has. It’s like the slow burn of a flame in a fireplace; once lit, it can only grow from here. The programming selection of the station has been exceptional in its taste and the station’s efforts to reach out to the UNCG and Greensboro community by hosting shows around town have generated quite a big turnout.

WUAG is anything but stagnant. There’s always a forward-drive, trying to become more visible in the community. Gabriel commented in our interview that the biggest conflict so far has been seeing how the station can continue the great things Bonney had set as a foundation for WUAG. Like with any thing with a good foundation, the next thing to do is build something lasting.

Despite change, something every department at UNCG is feeling, WUAG continues to be a dignified entity. While the future is always scary, the future of WUAG is what a lot of us are excited to see.