Students from all over the globe will be tuning their radios and turning up the volume to participate in what the Washington Post has described as, “College Radio Day: An SOS for student-run stations, a unifying college-radio event,” on Oct. 2, in the second installment of College Radio Day.
The organizers of this event believe college radio is “one of the last remaining bastions of creative radio programming, free from the constrictions of having to be commercially viable, and a place where those involved in its programming believe passionately in its mission.”
This concept was developed to raise a greater, international awareness of the many college and high school radio stations that operate around the world by encouraging people who would not normally listen to college radio to do so.
Nicholls State University participated last year and has been named as the state headquarters for all universities and colleges in the state of Louisiana. Due to this title, KNSU, which broadcasts on 91.5 FM and is our station here on campus, will run promotions about College Radio Day and its endeavor.
In an effort to make the greatest possible impact, stations will share prized interviews and other resources for the betterment of everyone’s college radio experience on that particular day. Here at Nicholls, a free live concert will be held outside of the union that will feature the talents of two bands:  Teen Hustle from Baton Rouge and Black Rose from Houma.
At the concert, co-sponsored by the SPA, KNSU will give away two free concert tickets to Voodoo Fest. There will be a sign-in sheet and after the concert, a correlating number on the sign-in sheet will be called.
Station manager Nick Gremillion is excited about the opportunity to advertise the benefits of college radio for not only his station but also those around the world.  “It’s an opportunity to raise more awareness about ourselves and other stations,” Gremillion said. “We are excited to be a part of this, it is huge for us.”
On a large, worldwide scale, 22 countries will be participating, including Australia, Israel and Nicaragua.
During the 1980s and 1990s, college radio was a necessary stepping-stone on the road to stardom for bands such as the Talking Heads, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nine Inch Nails. Nowadays, college stations play mostly unsigned and underground artists to give listeners a very diverse and eclectic sampling of music.
According to the organizers of the event, “College radio is the only free live medium brave enough to play unsigned, local, and independent artists on a regular basis. Put simply, college radio is an important part of the media landscape because of its unique and fearless programming.”
Stations across the country, as well as all other vestiges of a college campus, have been harshly affected by a lack of funding. Within the past couple of years, stations at prominent schools in the South such as Rice and Vanderbilt have sold off their FM rights to commercial operators. Some would argue that this impedes the students’ abilities of connecting with their student body and inhibits them from gaining valuable experience in the field of radio for future career opportunities.