The radio star was originally pronounced dead in 1979, but these Emory students — born after Y2K — demonstrate just how strong the pull of human connection through the sound waves really is.
The university’s student-run radio station, WMRE, began broadcasting to campus in 1989 and hit the internet nearly a decade later, in 1998, broadcasting through RealAudio and RealVideo.
When the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of Emory to transition to remote learning, WMRE took a hiatus, eventually being relaunched by passionate students in the fall of 2023.
Jackie Hampton, now co-president of WMRE, was on the ground floor of that relaunch, witnessing her friend and then-president Ruby Stillman reacquire funding and clean out the studio, which stood frozen in time since March 2020.
“I was chief engineer and was working to rebuild our streaming,” says Hampton, a senior majoring in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on urban planning.
The rebuilding process included contacting former student participants, looking at stations around the U.S., learning about streaming options and seeking advice from Mardy Beeson, manager of the film and media equipment room, for advice.
“It was fun,” says Hampton, “I got to be the first one to put us back on air.”
Now, anyone can tune in to the station via the WMRE website, attend in-person events and more.
Now playing: The student perspective
Why go to the effort of overhauling a channel with analog roots and rebuilding a student group when music has never been more accessible?
“Radio offers human connection. There’s somebody talking to you,” says Gabe Marrero, WMRE vice president. “You’re engaged in a conversation with another real person, the DJ. And if you’re an Emory student, it’s one of your peers.
“You just can’t get that connection from an algorithm,” says Marrero, a senior double majoring in psychology and philosophy.
Co-president Shadeh Okoudjou also emphasizes the value of hearing from peers.
“Our station offers the student perspective. We’re really open to what people want to say, so it makes for honest conversations,” says Okoudjou, a senior majoring in neuroscience and behavioral biology with a minor in African American Studies.
With more than 100 student DJs — including both undergraduate and graduate students — bringing unique perspectives, experiences and creative ideas for shows, it’s no surprise WMRE branches far beyond traditional radio into other areas of the arts.
“As a first-year student, I was looking for an arts-oriented group, so I went to the T-shirt bleaching event WMRE was hosting in Cox Hall,” says Carissa Park, who is now a junior majoring in art history and chemistry.
At the event, she met the editors of Frequency, WMRE’s zine. A continuation of the station’s original magazine, it now includes bits about DJs, new music or upcoming events. Talking with those editors, Park quickly discovered how many facets of creativity WMRE is involved in.
“I saw WMRE had a social media position open because their current chair was studying abroad,” she says. “I went full send, applied, and took on that role the spring of my first year.”
As social media manager, Park gets to flex her creative muscles with designing and graphics while also meeting new friends.
Human connection is also why live events, including those hosted by WMRE, carry a verve that a playlist can’t, the energy Noble Garcia was chasing when he arrived at Emory from his hometown of Haymarket, Virginia.
Garcia attended any on-campus music event he could as a first-year student and older students suggested he join WMRE. Garcia wound up hosting “Atlanta Allure” for both semesters of that first year, a show focused on local music. That led to the idea of applying for the station’s executive board.
“I was trying to talk myself out of it, because I was going to be so busy,” says Garcia, who is now zine editor/community engagement manager, a role where he has a hand in merchandise, planning creative events and concerts, creating the station’s zine and more.
“I am busy now,” he admits, “but I’ve never regretted it.”
Tuning in to older tech
Whether students joined college radio because of “Pitch Perfect” or an affinity for it thanks to their parents’ listening habits, the medium coincides with the bigger “going analog” trend.
“A lot of people in my generation are fed up with being consumed by the attention economy and the notion that your phone is designed to distract you and waste your time,” says Hampton. “At the station, we do stream from Spotify, but we have a plug-in for instruments, we have a ton of CDs, and even within the radio community I’ve seen a rise in people getting iPods again.”
“I know some people wouldn’t consider an iPod analog, but for my generation it is: it’s not connected to the internet,” says Hampton, who has also recently started burning CDs for friends.
Park notes that she’s seen the trend contribute to overconsumption as individuals use it as an excuse to buy more items. “But the analog trend is also furthering our mission of having a community-based organization around music and finding your people there. So it can have good effects, too.”
And any community-based organization needs to be able to pass news. Enter: WMRE’s Zine.
“Zines are an important way to get the word out,” says Garcia, now a sophomore majoring in accounting with a film and media management concentration. “They’re really easy to pass around and they travel fast. It’s grassroots marketing, in a way.”
The other appeal?
You can touch them.
“Nowadays where we use screens so much — and that’s a problem for me, too — it’s good to have something with texture, that you can feel and touch and interact with,” he says.
Expanding community
Community — one that stretches beyond the time it takes to earn a degree — is the current running beneath every show aired and every song played.
“We’ve had alumni reach out and say they’re loving what we’re putting out and doing,” says Park. “College can feel really short, and people come in and out, so it’s nice to know that we have a longer-lasting impact than what we might immediately see. People stay engaged even after they leave.”
Radio itself may be a one-sided conversation, but Okoudjou says that on-campus events show a lesser-known side of Emory students. “Everyone’s commitment to music and live music is incredible. Whenever we host shows on campus, it’s cool to see how engaged people get, showing up to the events and moshing to the music.”
Between social media, in-person events, hosting shows or simply tuning in, bringing WMRE back to the airwaves and rebuilding the community around music has been a group effort.
“I love the art, but it’s nothing if I don’t have really great collaborators who make that art enjoyable,” says Garcia.
As vice president, Marrero sees his main responsibility as “bringing as many people together as possible under the banner of the arts. That’s music, speaking for social justice, craft events and more. No matter who you are at Emory, there is a place for you at WMRE.”
Photos by Avery D. Spalding, Emory Photo/Video.