Pump up the volume: College Radio Day

By carolinianweb on September 30, 2015 • ( 0 )

Emily Stranahan/the carolinian

Sophia Lucente
Staff Writer

This Friday Oct. 2, UNCG’s WUAG 103.1 FM will be joining broadcasting forces across the nation in celebrating the 5th annual College Radio Day.

The idea was born out of a desire to commemorate college and high school radio stations’ artistic and civic impacts on their respective campuses, and to provide a sense of comradery between DJ’s. It was pioneered by Dr. Rob Quicke, General Manager of William Paterson University’s WPSC FM, located in Wayne, New Jersey. The professor and his colleagues spread the word under the pretense of one simple understanding: that “college radio is an important part of the media landscape because of its unique and fearless programming” – a fact listed as part of their mission statement on the official College Radio Day website.

In addition to this, the day intends to draw attention to the boundless creativity and freedom found in such programming, assets which allow for the promotion of countless independent musicians. It also means to give stations the chance to fundraise and entertain their student bodies. Furthermore, the event witnessed expansion in 2012 to include universities throughout the world and is now known internationally as World College Radio Day.

This year, WUAG will feature specialty programming during the day (to which one can listen at http://www.wuag.net or on their phone’s TuneIn Radio app) as well as a concert and celebration on the Stone Lawn of UNCG’s campus. More than one creative entity hailing from the university and from outside Greensbororian organizations will be involved in the festivities in order to curate the most diverse and approachable event possible.

“I’m really excited to see all the details come together,” said Jen Nelson, General Manager of WUAG and veteran organizer of College Radio Day. “We’re going to have a lot of different things, including the record swap, food truck, tie-dying, and of course music, going on. I hope that we can pull everything together to give people a sense of the WUAG community because that’s really what I want College Radio Day to showcase.” Event collaborators include UNCG’s arts and literature magazine the Coraddi, Hippo Records and CFBG.

WUAG went on the air on Jul. 28, 1964, at which time it was located at 89.9 FM. In 1991 it was relocated to 103.1, where it remains today. The station occupies most of the Brown Building’s third floor. Its musical collection is ever-changing. There is a consistent supply of music filed under alternative, hip-hop, Americana, metal, world, electronic, punk and jazz. However, the most important is a small wooden shelf of brand-new “rotation” tunes, selected from a variety of independent and local record labels and crowned with a plastic angel figurine with a Simon Cowell head pasted on it.

Headlining the event’s musical presentation will be Boston rock trio Vundabar, whose self-proclaimed genre is “sludgy jangly pop” and whose sound, characterized by sweet falsetto vocals and rapid drum beats, has been compared by critics to the Pixies and Thee Oh Sees.

“I think connecting with others in the community is the most important thing College Radio Day facilitates,” said Nelson. “It allows us an opportunity to showcase not only WUAG and college radio but also the great organizations that promote music and community in Greensboro.”

Those interested in attending are encouraged to spread the word and to find UNCG’s event on Facebook entitled “WUAG’S COLLEGE RADIO DAY CELEBRATION.” Attendees should expect the exact level of fun that its title suggests.