WWHS-FM Lying Dormant Until Repaired
by: Yonathan Tarekegne ‘13General Manager Michael Litle shows the Tiger around the station, explains the station’s silence
When I heard that the Hampden-Sydney radio station had temporarily stopped broadcasting, I thought, wait, we have a radio station? Where? To answer these questions, I turned to Michael Little ‘10, General Manager of WWHS-FM. He suggested we meet at the station—“a small building between Blake A and Winston.” Sure enough, I found the station, which from a distant appeared to be a giant doghouse.
Upon entering the small building, I was warmly greeted by Michael. He was waiting for me in the small lounge/hall area which was blindly decorated with colorful posters, famous records, album art works, and black and white pictures of former staff members. “I guess, the fall of 1978 was it’s first year running,” Michael comments pointing me to a document framed on the wall. The building was originally a carriage house for horses built in the late 19th century. (That explains its doghouse-like design.) “Running a radio station used to be a lot more technical,” he adds as I look at the 20 or so people who appeared on the staff pictures from the prior years. Now the station is run by four students: Jared Christian as Technical Director, Frasier Bolton as program Director, Matt Hudgens as Music Director, and Michael Little as the General Manager.
As the tour moves along, we proceeded to the Production Studio—a small, dark rectangular room filled with piles and piles of old records, CDs, a laser disk player, and much sound equipment. I look around at the library of albums and ask Michael what sorts of music they usually play. “We usually play classical rock, jam band stuff, some talk shows, and sport shows; it’s all over the place.” According to Michael, even student musicians like Matt Jones play their music through the station.
The Broadcast Studio is our next stop. With more of a modern feel to it, the studio is fully equipped with equalizers, soundboards, microphones, and speakers. I was surprised to see everything in order and in a seemingly functional state. I had expected to see the station in poor condition due to the fact that it was not running. So, I asked Michael, “Why is it not on the air this year?”
“It’s all technical issues,” he assures me. He talks about the problems they have been experiencing with the transmitters and equalizers and the complications of fixing them. “Hopefully, we will be broadcasting before the end of the semester.” We will keep our fingers crossed.
I take some time to get back and properly appreciate the artfully decorated lounge area. After a few minutes, though, I say my goodbyes and head out for the door, but not before Michael reminds me, “the applications for General Manager are due February 19th.”
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