WBGU’s studio on the first floor of West Hall could have been considered to be one of the best anachronisms on campus.
Walking into the doors was very similar to filming an episode of ‘I Love the 80s.’ Since WBGU made West Hall its home in the mid-’80s the only things that have changed are the staff and the addition of sporadic band posters plastered over the walls a tactful operation to pull the eyes up from the Reagan-era carpet.
However, thanks to more than 1,200 hours of volunteer work and an intense cooperation from the WBGU staff as well as generous donations, WBGU blasted their studio out of the past and equipped it with state-of-the art technology that will allow WBGU to have a more clear and definitive sound.
In addition, the new technology will allow a more efficient way for WBGU to have a live stream through their Web site, which allows them to reach a much larger market than their 1,000-watt allotment provides.
But no one could be more excited about the renovations than the WBGU staff.
Stephen Merrill, the general manager for the station who was the ‘button-pusher’ for the renovation process, said the improvements will really have a strong impact on WBGU’s staff and will reflect a higher quality of content.
‘The new renovations change the whole atmosphere of how things feel from being in the old radio station,’ Merrill said. ‘It gives a new professional feel for the studio, and some people have said that they feel more motivated and inspired to bring better programming and on air mannerisms.’
And the staff agrees.
Alex Merced, A WBGU DJ and the director of promotions said the new renovations will prove for a very successful year.
‘[The renovations] will provide better quality shows and give us the most use of guests and on-air phone calls,’ Merced said. ‘The music will be the same, but you will be able to also see what we play online soon, and our content in general will be better.’
And if it wasn’t for the staff and companies in the community, the revamping process would have taken much longer than expected.
The WBGU staff did most of the manual labor themselves in a grueling eight-week process where they totally made over the production suite, lobby, on-air studio and office.
‘It meant a lot of days of coming in at 8 a.m. and not leaving ’til midnight, and that would be four to five days straight,’ Merrill said. ‘We usually had a crew of two or three people which made things rather difficult because we worked in small numbers.’
While the renovations were in progress, the studio could not be used, forcing WBGU DJs to give up their summer radio shows.
‘The staff was incredibly patient,’ Merrill said. ‘I basically had to tell them that because of this, no one could have a show this summer, and no one complained at all.’
Speaking of patience, the WBGU studio is still waiting on its new carpet, which should be installed by the University in the next couple weeks.
However, none of the renovations would have been possible without the financial support that the radio station received.
The budget for WBGU has been on a steady decline for quite some years now, which forced WBGU to either come up with creative solutions to monetary issues, or launch a hardcore fund raising campaign.
Luckily for WBGU, its spring fundraiser grossed approximately $3,500.
Combining that with some savings they had acquired from last year and most of their money from this year’s budget, they were able to finance the estimated $13,000 project.
WBGU also received numerous donations that helped in the renovation process.
‘We have had a lot of help from a lot of people,’ Merrill said. ‘One of our staff members made a 14-foot mural on the wall with a kinda stary night theme to it.
‘We re-did all of our CD racks and labeled them, and the Copy Shop donated all of the labels. WBGU-PBS is letting us use their video server for our new Web cast which allows us to have both a Broadband and a dialup Web stream, so we are extremely grateful to everyone who has helped us,’ Merrill added.
All of the hard earned money and hours spent on the project will be apparent when WBGU uses their new equipment to broadcast live from the Black Swamp Arts Festival next weekend.
‘We are still in the process of training our DJs on the new equipment,’ Merrill said. ‘Because of the renovations, we have better equipment, which will allow us to broadcast from any site, including the Black Swamp Arts Festival. We will be there on Saturday and then we will resume full live programming for the remainder of the semester.’
WBGU is also considering having a community ‘studio-warming party’ with tours of the new studio.
‘If anyone has seen the studio before we made the changes, you will notice a huge difference,’ Merrill said.
More information about the changes can be viewed on WBGU’s Web site, www.wbgufm.com, or by listening to them at 88.1 FM.
WBGU wishes to extend a hearty thank you to everyone who has assisted in this process and will continue to make renovations as needed throughout the year.