Washington College: A Top-Tier Maryland Liberal Arts College

Sub Menu contents

WAC Radio

About the Station - [Listen Now]

Want to hear some live Shoremen sports action, catch a talk show featuring one of your favorite professors, or tune in for interviews with emerging musicians? All that and lots of music will soon be streaming through cyberspace to a computer near you. WAC Radio, an online radio station hosted by Live365.com, is slated to begin broadcasting in April.

Chip Hiden '09, director of mainstage events for the Student Events Board, the booking agent for the local band The Took, and the key promoter of Chipalooza, an annual charity music festival, is the driving force behind WACR. The idea jelled in his discussions with College staffer Michael Buckley, who hosts "Voices of the Chesapeake" on WRNR Radio in Annapolis, and in his entrepreneurship class with David Marshall '88, the College's tennis coach.

Marshall thought it was such a great idea, in fact, that he fronted the seed money to launch the student-operated radio station. Hiden did his research, visiting college radio stations at American University in Washington and at College Park.

At press time, Hiden was lining up on-air talent to work as DJs, news and talk show hosts, and sporting commentators, while putting together a list of prospective advertisers and securing space on campus for a broadcast studio.

Hiden admits he hardly ever listens to traditional radio, but he thinks WAC Radio will fill a void. "Instead of making a playlist for parties, students can just tune in to WACR," he says. Musical offerings will cover the spectrum from indie music, classic and alternative rock, to hip hop and dance music.

"We're hoping to broadcast 24 hours a day," Hiden says. "We'll put up big play lists of established musicians at first, but eventually I'd like to write to the record companies about featuring new artists on WACR."

Look for WACR's Listen Live button on Washington College's home page, www.washcoll.edu.

— From the Washington College Magazine