Student radio stations have long filled dorm rooms and frat house cleaning on lazy Sunday afternoons. They are also bastions of free speech, fueled by artistic and music-obsessed students who are sometimes years ahead of the mainstream. Since the 1960s, when the FCC began issuing “Class D” licenses for 10-watt stations, student radio has been an integral part of the student experience and campus life in general.
While radio as a whole is threatened by financial difficulties and changing consumer preferences, student radio continues to thrive, and many stations have grown since the first adopted online streaming.
WSBU-88.3 FM St. Bonaventure, St. Bonaventure, New York
WSBU 88.3 FM operates a 165-watt station that broadcasts 24/7. Under the direction of 16 student directors who oversee the station, 200 student volunteers keep this station running at number one according to the Princeton Review.
History is on the side of this station, which has survived six name changes and has remained in existence since 1948. “The Buzzworthy, a print and online magazine that comes out several times a month, has also become a household name. Hip-hop and indie rock acts such as the Mountain Goats or Peter Bjorn and John are often featured on WSBU.
WICB 91.7 FM Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
Ithaca College Radio began in 1941 in the dressing rooms of the Little Theater in Ithaca. The hosts didn’t have great equipment, but you could listen if you were within earshot of the speakers in the sound system in the neighboring rooms. Today, WICB uses a 4100-watt antenna with a traditional audience of 250,000 people, and the online audience is much larger. In 2008, the station won MTVu’s Woodie Award for Best Student Radio and was ranked number one among the most popular student radio stations in the Princeton Review’s 2014 rankings.
WICD is a little more mainstream than the other stations on the list, but has programs scheduled for contemporary rock, jazz, hip-hop, specialty, and my favorite, “The Hobo’s Lullaby.”
WERS 88.9FM Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts
WERS is non-commercial and touts itself as Boston’s discovery station, helping listeners find their next favorite artist. Accordingly, WERS stays off the beaten path and embraces an eclectic mix of local, independent talent and rediscovered and obscure classics.
“Standing Room Only” on Saturday and Sunday mornings provides some of that eclecticism by offering the most popular musical theater broadcasts in New England. If you’re looking for old hits and independent new artists, WERS is the place for you.
WGRE 91.5 FM DePauw University, Greencastle, IN
WGRE was established as the first educational radio station in the country as a 10-watt radio station in 1949. It is now the largest student organization at DePauw, with more than 200 student DJs. For 14 years, the station has been ranked in the top ten of the Princeton Review’s college radio stations. This year they were #2 on the list.
WASU 90.5 Appalachia, Boone, North Carolina
WASU only accepts students who are seriously considering a career in broadcasting, and it shows. Affectionately known as “The Appendix,” this station is known for finding quiet indie rockers before they become big. The station won MTVu’s Woodie Award in 2012.
KPSU 98.1 Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
This nonprofit, student-run freeform radio station has been a favorite in Portland since it first went on the air in 1994. KPSU currently does not operate on citywide FM radio, thanks to a user-friendly website where listeners can interact with DJs and the community, but is fully streamed online. The station puts no restrictions on the programming of its 65 (mostly student) volunteer DJs and, as you might expect, often helps to “keep Portland weird.”
WRHU 88.7 FM Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York
WRHU is a powerhouse of rising broadcast stars, taught by some of Manhattan’s finest. More than 200 current students help run the station, which broadcasts to New York City, Long Island and Connecticut. Covering NHL games and conducting in-house interviews with people like Jack Johnson and Janet Jackson, every student who works at the station must take a 10-week, non-credit course to ensure they are technically proficient on the air. WRHU is ranked 5th in the category of “best student radio station” Princeton Review.
WKNC 88.1 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
WKNC’s 25,000-watt transmitter serves the entire Raleigh-Durham market, focusing on electronica, hip-hop, indie rock, metal and North Carolina music. The station is non-profit and student-run, and it tries to fulfill its mission of playing “music that doesn’t suck.” Local collaborative events like “Local Band, Local Beer” make WKNC a cultural force in the greater community.