WMWC radio station gives out CDs on campus, raises club awareness

By ZACHARY WOHLEKING 

Unknown to much of the school population, UMW has a radio station called WMWC, which boasts a plethora of interesting and enjoyable programs. They recently have been doing free giveaways on campus walk to increase awareness of the club and de-clutter the station. The station was seen giving out free CDs on Oct. 12, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in front of Lee Hall and  has similar events planned for the future.

They had been using these CDs over the years, but now, since the station is switching to a digital platform, the CDs are no longer needed. Students could take full advantage of this opportunity, and could expose themselves to new bands and music they may have never even heard before.

All CDs were marked with sticky notes telling students what genre was in which CD as well as the best tracks on each CD. This made it easy for student to discover new music in the genres they already loved. They had a lot to give away, this was probably due to the fact the club had been stockpiling them for quite some time, most likely ever since CDs have existed.

WMWC was founded in 1946 and is one of the oldest running club on campus. In their giveaway, this seniority showed, as they had a very extensive collection of many genres that would make any college student happy. The radio station is currently located in Woodard Hall, right next to the Nest.

“Our call letters ‘MWC’ come from our school’s former name, Mary Washington College. Throughout the 80s and 90s we were broadcasted on both FM and AM stations, but we have since switched to online streaming in 2007 to keep up with demand,” said Abbey Bailey, current treasurer of WMWC.

The radio station has a variety of shows ranging from talk shows on sports to movies and even campus life. They also play a diverse range of music genres such as indie, jazz, metal, classical, rock, alternative and electronic. So, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

“Our DJs are given the creative freedom to use their one hour time slots as they wish. We currently abide by a clean-air policy but are in talks with the school for the removal of this,” Bailey said.

Bailey talked briefly about the station’s plans for the future. They plan on redecorating their studio, part of which will involve using the extra CDs they did not give away as decoration. The group recently served as the DJ of the Homecoming bonfire on Jefferson Square and plans to DJ other campus events for students.

“We constantly get the question “UMW has a radio station?” So, yes, we do. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, and are eager to expand our listener base,” Bailey said.