October 2020 Union in the Media Archive

The Union College Chemistry and Biochemistry Club was mentioned in a recent issue of Chemical and Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.

The article showcases how ACS student chapters are adapting during the pandemic.

Union's chapter had its origins in 1914 as the Chemical Society, which folded in 1929. It was reorganized as the Chemistry Club in the fall of 1937, according to the "Encyclopedia of Union College History." Biochemistry was added in the last decade.

At 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14, 1920, Union’s student-operated radio station conducted a historic broadcast. Using a 150-watt transmitter from a studio in a shack behind the electrical engineering building with the antenna strung between two trees, the half-hour broadcast opened with tenor John Steel’s “Tell Me Little Gypsy.”

The broadcast 100 years ago made Union the first college station, and the first licensed station of any kind, to air regularly scheduled programs.

The Daily Gazette featured the milestone in a recent story (a subscription may be required).