You're sitting all alone in your room, and it's extremely quiet. You want to turn on some music, but all you have in the room is a Spice Girls single and a Bon Jovi album. Why not check out WCWS 90.9 FM, the College's very own radio station?

WCWS offers programs to satisfy any musical taste: alternative, bluegrass, techno, ska, punk, indie rock, hip-hop, jazz and others. Here are a few unique programs that are growing in popularity and might be worth trying on your radio:

For example, "The Final Score with Dr. J" is a sports commentary show that airs from 10 to noon on Thursday morning and Sunday afternoons from 3-4:30 p.m. Hosted by Jacob Johnson '01, the show focuses on what he claims to know best. "Being a three-sport all-state champion in high school made the transition from sports to radio easy," he said. "I'm a champion in both aspects."

Joy Bishop '01, the assistant general manager of the station, also hosts a show. Though the show doesn't have a specific theme, it attracts listeners with the newest music the station receives and lesser known tunes from popular musicians.

Besides running her own show, Bishop also has helped to improve the quality of WCWS.

"The management team is really organized this year," she said. "We're working on a lot of things that aren't obvious to the listener, but are long-standing." This includes a station constitution and publishing the program guide at the beginning of the year.

Bishop says she has received as much from the station as she has given. "For me personally, it's a good release. It's a hands-on experience, and I'm still learning a lot."

Steve Boughton '99, in addition to hosting an indie/punk show, also plays a focal role at WCWS as program director. He attributes the popularity of certain radio shows to how long they have been on the air. For example, Mike Gorrell, post-office manager in Lowry Center, hosts his own bluegrass show, which airs on Sunday from 8-10 p.m. It has a fairly large number of listeners because it has been on the air for 7 or 8 years. But even a newer DJ who is consistently putting on a good show will have many listeners and flooded phonelines.

Boughton also believes that WCWS benefits from its broadcasting range of 15 to 20 miles, which makes it accessible to many people outside the college. "It's always encouraging when someone calls from Medina or Canton," Boughton remarked.

With its spectrum of talent and musical genres, WCWS has truly become a staple of the College community. Stay tuned: you might just discover a program you can't live without.

Previous Arts & Entertainment Story | Next Arts & Entertainment Story