College Radio Day is a celebration for all college radio stations worldwide, usually taking place on the first Friday of October.
At Millikin, this celebration includes a table in the UC with pamphlets, information about WJMU, and a boombox playing their station all day.
Students can also make their way up to the third floor of the UC and take a look at the studio, where they will find Sam Meister, the advisor of WJMU, running a program all day.
WJMU is Millikin’s student-run radio station. WJMU stands for “W James Millikin University.” The “W” is assigned to every radio station east of the Mississippi River, which helps to identify and differentiate radio stations from one another.
Whenever Millikin students wanted to make this station official, they had to come up with a name for it.
“I think what they did was they looked at what used to be a crest of Millikin University,” Meister said. “You can still see it over on Gorin Hall, where it just says JMU, and it’s in the stonework.”
Since then, Millikin’s college radio station has been identified as WJMU and is able to be streamed on 89.5.
College Radio Day has existed since 2010, the same year that Meister began teaching at Millikin. Meister has been an important part in helping form WJMU into what it is today, as well as the reason they are participating in this global event.
College Radio Day is about both the history and the future of WJMU, and a large part is about making students aware that this is a possible organization they could join.
“What we try to do is make not only the students on campus here aware that we are a college radio station and that we are here on campus, but also that college radio is a phenomenon that has existed for a really, really long time,” Meister said.
Since WJMU is a student-run radio station, the focus is mainly on them, what they know, what they can learn, and how this can be a good experience for them, even if they decide to move on to a completely different career.
One of the students involved in WJMU is Eli Bland. Bland is a multimedia communications major who has been a part of WJMU since last fall. He is also currently the production director.
“[College Radio Day is] mainly just to bring awareness to the station; we usually have a table in the UC,” Bland said. “Mainly promotion for the station, for people, if they want to get involved.”
Having this amount of exposure is very beneficial for WJMU, especially since their table is set up in one of the busiest buildings on campus.
Kayla Hanson, an art psychology major, is the current Program Director of WJMU and has been a member since the fall of 2023.
“It’s a great way to get your voice heard,” Hanson said.
This isn’t Hanson’s first College Radio Day, and Hanson encourages students to go to the UC to see WJMU’s table as well as to pop into the studio upstairs. All students, no matter what major or skillset they have, are welcome to reach out to join.
There is an interest for everyone at WJMU, even if you don’t feel comfortable being on air. Whether your interest lies in the brainstorming, producing, or performance aspect, there is an opportunity.
“We’re also open to [whether] any students have songs they want to put on the radio,” Bland said.
Meister, Bland, and Hanson encourage every student at Millikin to learn more about WJMU through College Radio Day. And if you’re lucky, you might get some pizza from Meister at the studio.
Be sure to check out WJMU on Friday, October 3rd, to learn about what you can do for WJMU and what it can do for you. If you are interested in joining WJMU, send Meister an email at [email protected].
And of course, as Hanson said, “Stay tuned to WJMU 89.5 The Quad.”
