By Devyn Briones
Arts & Entertainment Editor
With years of weather reports and live music from the Kendall Hall basement, WTSR celebrates its 60th anniversary with previous alumni and current students who have and continue to make the magic of WTSR possible.
On April 15 in Brower Student Center, previous and current students involved with WTSR connected to share their experiences, memories and celebrated this huge milestone.
The first hour of the event allowed attendees to talk and get to know one another, followed by dinner and a show. Five generations of WTSR members took stage and recounted their times at the station.
Events like the break of the Beatles, the Voyager spacecraft and, of course, the start of Ms. Sue’s show was all broadcasted on WTSR.
“We want to make sure we celebrate the impact that WTSR has had, not only in our lives, but is having in our current students’ lives,” Paul Alfieri, class of ‘97 said. “It has made an impact into the Mercer County community.”
“The Eras of Panel” on stage included Tom Weiss, class of ‘75, Laurie Evans, ‘86, Kenyatta Cheese, ‘96, Madison Ouellette-Hays, ‘16 and the current station manager, Addie DiPietro, a junior history secondary education major. Alfieri hosted the panel and asked the generations questions about their time at WTSR. Listening and watching the five panelists looked and sounded like a live podcast. Everyone in the audience was laughing and interacting with those on stage.
Weiss reminisced on his first memories of WTSR, and how the organization itself is what kept him at the College. As a commuter, Weiss felt like he was in thirteenth grade rather than in college. He didn’t really have a college feeling or felt connected, so by the end of his first semester, he was ready to leave.
One night, Weiss was in the Kendall Hall basement looking for his English professor’s office to turn in a paper, but found himself quite literally lost in the darkness. He saw the letters “WTSR” written on the wall with an arrow pointing right, and followed the directions until he finally found light.
Weiss was greeted by a guy sitting with his feet up on a desk, reading a magazine. He bopped his head in and had his first interaction Brian McElvoy, the current station manager at the time. McElvoy gave Weiss a tour of the studio, where he saw the news booth, the on-air studio, conference room and production studio. Weiss immediately fell in love, but was hesitant to join since he wasn’t planning on returning.
About a week later, he found himself back in the basement to fix woodworking trim that wasn’t finished. Soon enough, Weiss spent his time in between classes and after classes in the studio. Weiss decided to stay at the College and return next semester because of the people he met and his involvement in WTSR.
“WTSR gave me the clubhouse feeling that I needed to have, and I didn’t until I came here,” he said. “WTSR has the power to change people's lives. I know it because it changed mine.”
While WTSR was celebrating 60 years, a special shoutout was made to Ms. Sue, also known as, “Ms. Sue Ms. Sue,” a DJ legend at WTSR, who reached her 50th anniversary at the station. Ms. Sue’s time spent on air and at the station is all volunteer work.
“WTSR has been my life,” Ms. Sue said. “And I talk to my friends, they say, ‘why do you do that? They don’t pay you.’ But the pay is that I’ve met so many beautiful people in my life. I see students come in as babies and grow up to be seniors and move on in their life.” As much as Ms. Sue has helped WTSR, WTSR and music itself has helped her through her own personal life.
Current members of WTSR. (Photo by Devyn Briones)
DiPietro has also always had a love for music, which is what pushed her to join WTSR. When her and her mom were touring colleges, she’d always make sure to check out the radio stations. Joining the first semester of her freshman year, DiPietro started on music staff and then to DJ training and becoming a dayside DJ. By the end of her freshman year, she’d already worked her way up to music director.
“I am so insistent on getting new and interesting music out there, so I’ve helped turn WTSR into a platform for the music that no one else will give a chance, maybe because it’s too weird or because it’s too small, but we’ll play it here on WTSR,” she told The Signal.
WTSR hasn’t just made an impact at the College’s campus, but for other stations around the world. The organization has hosted two panels at the most recent Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Conference and won three awards there. “That really opened my eyes to the impact that we have here at the station,” DiPietro recalled. “It’s not just on our little bubble, not just our campus, not just our broadcast range; it’s the whole country.”
DiPietro hopes she continues working in a field that allows her this level of community outreach, whether it’s radio, community service or the teaching tract she’s currently on. “Working here at WTSR has changed my life for the better, and I hope to use that change to change the lives of people going forward,” she said.
Jennifer Fowler, class of ‘96, has now been in the music industry for 30 years, with her career path starting in the Kendall Hall basement. Fowler grew up in a music family, but never really understood the business that was behind music. Being the music director for WTSR was very educational for her as she learned a lot about how the business works. She ended up landing a gig in New York City her junior year, which ended up turning into a job.
“I joke that it was kind of my fraternity, it was my sorority, but it also ended up really putting me on a really interesting career path,” she told The Signal.
Students who are interested in joining WTSR or want to tune in can keep in touch through their Instagram. WTSR has and continues to prove that the people and the music can transform lives.
