October 6, 1995: Volume 35, Number 3

Radio station WRUC celebrating 75 years

On Oct. 14, 1920, a group of Union students used some makeshift equipment housed in a shed behind the electrical engineering lab to broadcast 27 minutes of music.

From that broadcast 75 years ago, widely considered the first scheduled radio broadcast in the country, has grown WRUC, a 24 hour, seven day a week, non-commercial student-run operation that features everything from jazz to sports to Spanish music and news.

On Saturday, Oct. 14, from a spacious state-of-the-art fourth-floor Reamer Campus Center studio complete with a changer that holds 100 compact discs, the station will mark its 75th birthday.

Senior Dan Petruzella, general manager, said one of the things he likes about being involved in WRUC is doing something for the community. WRUC provides four hours of Spanish programming every Saturday morning. The station also provides live coverage of all Union football and hockey games. (Union College radio was the first known station to cover a sporting event when it did play-by-play for a Union-Hobart football game on Nov. 13, 1920.) These services, says Petruzella, provide an important link to the community. "We love bringing them in if we can," he says.

Also on WRUC staff during the 75th birthday of the station are senior Matt MacInnis, program manager; Rob Cohen, business manager; Phil Tavernier, technical manager; and Andy Fradkin, promotions manager.

<< Previous Story Coming events

Next Story >> Lewis Golub named chair of...