The early spin on Worcester's college radio stations

Remembering the days when vinyl ruled the waves

By Michael Grandone, Holy Cross, Class of 2003

Worcester, with colleges galore, has had its share of college radio stations, some of which are still on the air — and some of which have morphed into a far cry from their crude campus beginnings.

The very first Worcester college radio station on record belongs to Holy Cross. In December 1948, a mere three years after the close of World War II, WCHC began broadcasting from the college’s main building, Fenwick Hall. Located at 645AM on the dial, WCHC eventually rested at 88.1FM (with a 24 hour streaming webcast) after an FCC registration. Today, the range of the broadcast reaches miles down Interstate 395 and well into Shrewsbury on Route 9.

Besides reporting on many notable late twentieth century moments, WCHC was able to make it’s own headlines with a milestone broadcast. In 1966, DJ Tom Osgood set the record for marathon radio broadcasting by being on the air for 75 hours straight.

Today, WCHC prides itself on being “Worcester’s Only Alternative Source.” Playing loads of indie, techno, hip hop, and metal (just to name a few genres), the station offers music that can’t be heard anywhere else. There are changes in store, though, according to new station manager Matt Chmura who hopes to increase the station’s listener base. “[The] play-list will be expanded to include more popular music,” Chmura says. “Not necessarily top-40, but definitely music that is more mainstream.”

WCHC sports coverage is reputable as well, staying on top of all of Holy Cross’s sports (broadcasting all home and many away games) and being in tune with other area school’s athletics.

Holy Cross has had more than one station on the airwaves in the past 54 years. In 1969, a group on campus entered into a joint venture with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Radio station WICN 90.5 fm went on the air with the goal of providing programming for all students in the Worcester Consortium schools. WCHC was still only an AM station at the time.

Originally, WICN featured jazz, easy listening, and educational programming. WPI students and Holy Cross students were encouraged to offer their own specialized skills to the station. “The thought was that the WPI students would take care of the technical aspects of the station and the Holy Cross students, with liberal arts focus, would provide the programming,” says Tom Devlin, an early pioneer at WICN, now operations manager at the nationally-known Boston station, WGBH 89.7 fm.

Eventually, WICN became independent of any school, becoming a NPR and PRI (Public Radio International) affiliate that maintains popularity in the area, way beyond the college demographic. WPI students, however, still do internships at the station.

In 1995, in the recesses of the “sub-basement” of WPI’s computer science building, a new campus station, WPIR 90.1 FM, was created. As a small club, DJs broadcast music over the campus cable system where students could listen through their televisions. Three years later, the operation was expanded to include transmission over the Internet.

Variety is a mainstay of WPIR. “Programming ranges from jazz to ska, from funk to heavy metal, from techno to rap, from comedy to news,” says the station’s website. Live music is also featured every Tuesday night.

Swelling even further into the Internet realm, a webcam is featured on the station’s website (radio.wpi.edu) so that the DJs can be seen in action.

Worcester State College offers a similar, contained radio effort on campus. WSCW was started in 1972 through the efforts of Phil Robo. The format was “open” and the DJs were all purely volunteers (as are most in college radio), sending a free flow of music and school news over the campus cable lines.

Things changed quickly, though, when a transmitter was set up allowing for a limited, non-commercial broadcast. DJs did not have to rely solely on their own personal collections. Eventually an on campus webcast was added.

WSCW DJs did not have to rely on their own personal broadcasting spaces. Clark University’s WCUW, on the other hand, was first set up in the basement of a dormitory in 1973. Students exploited the freedom of being able to do anything they wanted on the radio by featuring an eclectic mix of music, poets, local commentary, and bootlegs.

WCUW had an element missing on other college radio stations, – the sound of other languages. Originally, Spanish-speaking programs were the norm on WCUW. Now, it is not uncommon to hear French, Italian, or any number of other languages on the air.

Offering cultural diversity, WCUW attracted quite a following and outgrew its campus origins, just like it’s much fancier, public radio cousin, WICN. In 1980 the operation moved off campus and into Worcester’s downtown. Today, at 91.3 FM, WCUW is a non-profit community station.

Although college radio stations often operate with little funding and a fluctuating listening population, they still work because of their staff: the students. For starters, they all know what the majority of their listeners want, being students themselves. Secondly, all of the DJs are there because they want to be. Nobody is stuck with being on air, or with anything else behind the scenes, like programming, picking records, or managing the station.

Often times, DJs get involved by accident. One day a friend of a DJ may just be around a station helping play some CDs. The next, if they are ready and willing, they could be the music director. Radio always looks for somebody eager to speak up and do a little work – if listening to music can be called work.

In this lies the strength of college radio. The listener can control the station. Not just through calling in requests (although DJs love getting requests because it lets them know that people are listening), but simply by volunteering, because there is always room for a willing person to help - and another voice to be heard.

Michael Grandone is a senior at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester.