the
pact a wdbm publication.
vote wDBM for station of the year and
most creative programming
...or perish
staff facts Jill, our office manager, trains leader dogs for the blind. This means that the puppy she is training must be with her at all times. This means that we have at least one puppy at the station at almost any given time. Basically our lives rule.
Music reviewer and news team member Eric won a year supply of Gogurt when he was seven years old. (This amounts to three boxes of Gogurt a month for a year in cause you were curious.) He to this day, can no longer eat Gogurt without feeling ill and has a small scar on both sides of his mouth.
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a note from
the music director I grew up listening to MSU’s student-run radio station, The Impact - WDBM. Before my days of Spotify, Soundhound, and high speed internet, I remember sitting in the car, on the verge of being late for class, patiently waiting to be told the name of the song I was listening to, an indie treat from the college radio heavens, so I could go out and buy the album when I got out of school that afternoon. I remember wanting nothing more than to get a tour of the studio, see where it all happened; maybe even meet the DJs. I knew I wanted to attend that school so I could one day become one of them. I enrolled, got accepted, and immediately filled out a volunteer form to work at The Impact. Shortly after, I put on the most credible
local band tee I owned and skipped class to make it to my very first training session. I was awful. That mic was a terrible and daunting foe who made me stutter every sentence and mispronounce my favorite band’s name. I could never show my face there again. It was over. A few weeks later, the training director saw me in that hallway before class. “Hey you! Come back! You were fine. You’ll get it soon!” Before I knew it she had talked me into another training session the following day. I calmed down and I practiced. A LOT. Soon I was on our internet station and sooner than I had ever expected I had finally made it to the real deal. I was finally there. I did it. I loved DJing, and worked
hard at it. Soon I impressed
decisions had been made, that
my way onto a spot on the
were far out of our control,
director’s staff, and that’s
that had forced us to undergo
where the real work began.
an audit. We have been denied
I found myself at the station
any additional funding until
every minute possible. I
the audit has been completed
kept an air mattress in my
and wouldn’t know (and still
office for the long nights
don’t know) if we’d have a
where I’d work until I was
job, or more importantly, a
too tired to bike back to my
station, the next day.
apartment. It meant working
Things were more grim and
holidays and bringing a plate
heavier than they had ever
of Thanksgiving dinner to the
been, but despite this we
station for the director who
moved forward as best we
was left on duty when you
could. We didn’t give up or
weren’t. It meant a steady
go off air. We pinched our
flow of great music and a new
pennies and often pulled
concert buddies to share it
them out of our own pockets.
with. It meant fights with
We kept showing up. We kept
other directors and DJs who
working. We worked harder
acted as the siblings I never
in hopes of proving our
had. It meant coming to them
relevance, because we deserve
for advice and tear-filled
to keep this station running
hugs when the world outside
on our campus, and we deserve
of radio was too cruel. It
to share it with others.
meant another home.
We deserve to share it with
So, last spring, when we
you.
found out our funding could
We have worked hard,
get cut, it was far more than
and you’ve noticed. The
I could handle.
nominations we’ve received
Our station is funded by
this year mean far more to us
a small student tax every
than we could ever say.
semester. Upper level
Thank you.