by MEGAN DREHER, Editor-in-Chief
After a long-awaited return to the airwaves, the reboot of Manhattan College’s radio station WRCM is back for Fall 2019. Having seen tremendous growth from the initial launch in February, members of the executive board as well as new and returning DJs are excited to be back for an anticipated successful semester.
While there was much that went into airing WRCM back in February, the return for the fall semester was much easier than expected.
“This semester, the start-up to get back on the air was a lot less involved than last year as there was no new equipment to acquire and there were quite a few returning DJs that knew how to use the equipment. The biggest task was finding new DJs to fill up the schedule and to train them all,” said Patrick Skwiot, the Music Director for WRCM.
Skwiot is responsible for managing the shows that run on air, compiling off-air event playlists, and building a physical music library for the station. He attended a general interest meeting last school year, and has been involved ever since. One of the aspects he enjoys the most is what he has learned while serving as the Music Director.
“I’m always looking for new music, and in this week alone, I’ve been exposed to a lot of artists I haven’t heard a lot from before,” said Skwiot.
Since Skwiot’s early involvement, there has been a general increase in interest in the club.
“We have a total of 52 shows this semester as of now, which is great, because last year there were just over 30 shows,” said Skwiot.
Alexander Nieves, the current Technical Director for WRCM, echoed Skwiot’s excitement about the growth of their station.
“This goes to show how great of a sub-community we are building – and we hope to grow even more in the future!” said Nieves.
Nieves got involved by assisting in designing a website for the club. From there, he has been heavily involved in the technical aspects of WRCM, including setting up equipment and computer work. He has enjoyed seeing the club grow with the work done behind the scenes as well.
“Being a DJ isn’t the only thing that people do in the club. While we have our board members that spearhead larger tasks, all other board members can actually assist them in these projects! For instance, I currently run two teams that specialize in specific projects in technology, so some people are handling things like inventory but others are learning how to use databases and will soon be using HTML to help me with the website!”
Both Nieves and Skwiot expressed how excited they are for the multitude of different shows present on the airwaves this semester. One person contributing to the variety is sophomore and California-native Leah Krouse, who started as a DJ with WRCM this past Spring.
“When I told my friends I wanted to get involved with WRCM, they suggested I play some beach-y music from my library, as most of them from the east coast hadn’t heard of some artists I’d listed. Anyway, I decided I’d play that sort of music, and I knew I needed a show title. It came pretty easy, actually. “Amoeba Beach” is the name of my show and although it sounds strange, there’s a story! Amoeba Records is my favorite record store from home in LA and my dad and I have a pretty hefty collection of vinyls. On my show, between songs, I like to talk a bit about the bands, their roots, their inspirations, their vibes and so on, as well as records, for the bands that release their music on vinyl, and how the art of vinyl is being kept alive. Some artists I have played include Best Coast, Beach House, Beach Bunny, Alvvays, La Luz, and Summer Twins,” said Krouse.
But DJs like Krouse aren’t the only people bringing new and exciting content to listeners. The programs, in addition to offering a variety of music, also are offering segments such as talkshows and newscasts.
“One of the things that I’m most excited for this semester are the new news programs on Monday and Friday mornings; I think It’s a great way to stay informed about campus news and events,” said Skwiot.
The future of WRCM is looking bright, and the club is excited to be an entertaining and reliable source for students to listen to once again.
“I believe WRCM is a great asset to the Manhattan College Community as we can kind of have this great 2-way relationship with different clubs,” said Nieves, “Having the ability to have club members speak on WRCM and both promote their events and also offer extra content for their clubs helps expand our listener’s grasp on what’s happening here on Campus, and I couldn’t be more proud of our DJ’s and what they’re doing than how I feel now.”