Since 2012, College Radio Day has been annually celebrated, reaching 30 countries outside of the U.S. Locally, Grand Valley State University’s student-run Whale Radio took part in the celebration Friday, Oct. 6. 

At the Cook Carillon Tower on the GVSU Allendale Campus, music was playing and some of the Whale Radio members played their own choice of music and allowed people to take CDs that had been sent in from local bands hoping to get their songs on the radio. 

To kick off the event, Rachel Syrba, a member of the GVSU promotions team, and Ethan Schafer, business manager for Whale Radio, shared the stage at noon, playing music and hanging out with the students at GVSU. 

Sybra said she was pleased with the turnout and was happy to see that people were asking when Whale Radio’s meetings were. She said she was excited to be celebrating and enjoyed sharing music with the crowd. 

“The music is pretty loud, but we don’t want to disturb classes, so it’s not insane,” Syrba said. “The music we try and play is mostly top 40 of the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000 to 2010, so whatever we play, someone is gonna know it.”

The goal of College Radio Day is to raise awareness of college radio stations and ultimately create a long-lasting audience.

“What we normally do with the radio station or at Campus Life Night is have all of the CDs out that bands (will) send in to us,” Schafer said. “We set them out, and people can come by and have whatever one they want for free. College Radio Day is for us to say to our students, ‘Hey, we exist. Listen to us.’”

By celebrating this day outside of the Kirkhof Center, one of the busiest areas on GVSU’s Allendale Campus, Whale Radio put faces to the people behind the microphones.

“College radio itself isn’t restricted by a ton of rules,” Syrba said. “We can be a little more outspoken, and I think that’s super cool. It’s one of the last creative outlets for college students to get their voice out there. Lots of people asked about the station and asked when meetings are. We really want to start giving a face to the radio station. We’re always looking for more people to join.”

The DJs from Whale Radio’s shows gave more information about the radio station and answered questions students were curious about. Ultimately, it appeared the team had fun sharing their music, discussing CDs and talking more about the radio.