You’re listening to the radio in your dorm room while you’re trying to stay awake to finish your homework. The commercials end and the song that you already heard five times that day starts playing again, just in case you really need to hear it one more time. You find yourself screaming at the radio station to find itself some new music.
Unfortunately, most radio stations will not stop playing the same songs over and over and over again anytime soon. If all goes as planned, however, this fall semester students will no longer have to subject themselves to such repetitive music. Four Creighton students will be founding KCUJ, Creighton University’s first online radio station, run for and by Creighton students.
The idea to start the station began with Grant Winterer, a Creighton Arts & Science freshman who said he came to Creighton knowing he “wanted to get involved in radio.”
After learning that Creighton currently has no radio organizations or clubs, Winterer decided it was up to him to start one.
Winterer mentioned his idea to a few friends, Arts & Sciences freshmen Patrick Murray and Claire Schuster and Arts & Science sophomore Miles Loggie.
Before long, Murray said Winterer found himself a “core group of people interested in making [the radio station] a reality at Creighton.” Dr. Olaf Bohlke of the German department will serve as faculty moderator for the organization.
When it came to naming the station, KCUJ seemed like the logical choice. K is the assigned call letter, CU stands for Creighton University, and J is for Jays, the mascot.
Murray said the station will be student centered and “largely defined by the students.” He hopes to present a diverse mix of music.
Schuster agrees, although she joked that there will be no Jonas Brothers or Styx.
“Other hosts can play Styx if they want, but we’re not going to play Styx,” she said.
Loggie adds that there will be a lot of local music and possibly even clips from foreign news radio.
As far as the talk radio goes, Murray said that they plan to “dedicate two hours each week to some sort of political segment,” splitting the time between a liberal and conservative voice. This will also provide an opportunity to work together with the College Republicans and Democrats on campus.
Sports will be broadcast, although not initially. Murray said that in the future they hope to have Creighton sporting events that are not already broadcasted elsewhere.
Once the station is up and running, many students will be needed to host shows, run equipment and advertise, among other things. Loggie encouraged students to remember that this is another option to become involved – another “creative outlet for students.” Anyone is welcome because Schuster said, “it takes all kinds.”
KCUJ is not yet an official organization on campus, but Murray said he sees no reason why it should not receive official status as a Creighton student organization. So, give it a few months, and KCUJ radio might be just a click away from creighton.edu. Students who wish to become involved may contact [email protected].