Even in days of Spotify and Amazon Music, college radio persists. Since the 1920s on AM, colleges radios have orchestrated an important role to music, game shows, sports, and Millenial and baby boomer culture.

  According to RadioSurvivor.com, there are 441 licensed college radio stations in the United States and Canada. There are more than 600 unofficial stations.

Let’s take a look at four South Jersey kids making the most of their own college radio experiences.

EMERSON COLLEGE –

LINDSEY GOLDIN

  A member of Emerson College’s radio, senior Lindsey Goldin, has helped her radio station, WERS 88.9 FM, create a huge presence in the greater Boston area.

   However it’s “not a huge reach around campus because our listeners are people who 35-55 years old and enjoy new and old indie/alternative rock”.

   They also have professional program with daytime host, George Night, and kids’ programs during the weekends, such as “The Playgroom”.

   As music coordinator and host of a prime time spot of 10am to 2pm on Wednesdays, Goldin arranges various programs, from song research to music discovery.

   She’s responsible for adding new songs to the station which requires much research in record labels, producers, and in song trends, and using her own musical taste.

   Emerson also has a bi-annual Live Music Week fundraiser, one of which is happening April 7-15, which Goldin books 20 artists. WERS is student-run but has a  professional staff of 7 student leaders and 6 professional staff members. Goldin’s “time commitment can range from 8 to 15 hours on any given week.”

UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE –

NOAH VINEBERG

   To pursue his hobby interests in sports, Noah Vineberg, a sophomore at University of Delaware and an alumnus from Cherry Hill East, became involved in college radio.

   Vineburg got involved because his roommate ran a music radio show. He wanted something  that revolved around sports. “I love talking about sports,” he said. He said any student can get involved in college radio.

   “There’re a bunch of student-run music shows,” he said, “as well as broadcasting the sports games, such as basketball, football, and baseball”.

   In order to raise awareness and spirit

around campus, Vineberg covers different sports events around campus.  He admits that radio is honestly not a huge presence for University of Delaware. However, he said it may be a “much bigger influence among the people who live in the town.”

   Next semester, Vineberg will provide color commentary—filling in time during breaks of sporting events. The production entails running proper ads, letting the in game announcers know any info they need, and running halftime shows that talk about other Delaware sports, as well as other professional ones.

   For the University of Delaware, the college radio airs all year, is mainly student run, and the time commitment is basically whatever the student wants to contribute. “I’m not super involved, but it’s something I do for fun on the side.”

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD –

AUDREY MORGAN

  Eastern Class of 2016 alumni Audrey Morgan agrees with this level of commitment. She is Operations Manager of her college radio station, WSAM. Even before her first fall semester began, she knew she wanted to become a part of this community.

   “There’s a pretty big presence for our radio station on campus actually,” she said, “and it’s ever growing”. You see people wearing t-shirts with our logo on it at least once a day.”

   Morgan’s responsibilities include social media updates, scheduling, and outreach between the executive board and members. “I am also in charge of taking down meeting minutes when the executive board meets weekly so that we have a list of points to discuss at our members’ meeting.”

  Hartford’s radio is fully student run, including podcast programming, live DJ mixing, and hosting their own spring music festivals.

   They put on live sessions in their studio where bands from all over come in and perform. “We even encourage touring bands to come in and allow us to host them,” she said. “Even when they do not have specific programming schedules, they have an Auto DJ play the station’s Spotify account.

   “The worst fate for a radio station,” she said, “is to succumb to dead air”.

   Morgan added that people in the community and on campus know WSAM. “And we have a pretty large member base to show for it,” she said.

  Morgan said it’s a laid back environment. “We know we’re all there for one purpose,” she said, “to do what we love and spread good musical vibes while doing it.”

BOSTON UNIVERSITY –

DANYA TROMMER

   Even though the radio doesn’t “garner many listeners in the greater Boston area,” Danya Trommer, a freshman at Boston University, said their radio, WTBU, “is pretty big in the college of communications.”

   What started at a college activities fair, Trommer got involved in her school’s radio station because of her love for music and spreading a unique taste to the station. The programming ranges from 6am to 2am, so it “is not officially on the radio due to not having a 24 hour rotation.”

   Trommer’s responsibilities include hosting and writing. “I’m a DJ, so I have my own show. I also write for The Beat, a magazine about the Boston DIY music community.” The program is fully student run and allows students to contribute what they would so like.

  “It becomes a bigger commitment if you decide to become more involved with the different sections, like PR or tech,” she said.