On Air with Student Radio

Since its beginning, college radio has offered opportunities for students to communicate and connect with a broad audience through curated media and emerging technology.

Over the years, student-led radio stations have been credited with being some of the first to feature once-underground artists, not only introducing platforms for alternative genres to combat the limitations of mainstream airplay but also providing spaces for listeners to engage with less accessible music.

In today’s evolving world, the outlet of college radio remains simultaneously transient and intimate. When tuning in, listeners are still likely to hear a variety of selections just as authentic as the students themselves. As student DJ Joe Wujek claims, “If you don’t like what you’re hearing, twenty minutes later, you’ll probably hear something that you enjoy”—an appropriate statement to describe a platform that encourages forms of expression that lean into unpredictability and nuance.

Joe Wujek, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, first got involved with WXYC 89.3 FM hosting a weekly show during his junior year. I spoke with him last semester about his experiences being a part of the station and how he transfers his musical identity onto the air.

“It happened on a whim,” he said. “I was leaving the dining hall and I ran into an old friend from high school who was already involved with the station. He told me if I was really into music, it would be something I’d like.”

Wujek received an offer to be a part of WXYC’s team after a brief application process and a tour of the station. “It took some time at first getting used to how everything worked, but it helped that I shadowed with a mentor,” he said. “She was really helpful and provided me with a good example of what I’d be doing on the radio.”

Soon after, he secured a slot on Saturdays from 3 A.M. to 5:30 A.M. Wujek admitted that this “graveyard shift” seemed a bit less than ideal when he first got started on the air. “Primetime!” he joked. “You know, when everyone’s listening.”

Despite the late-night hours, Wujek gained a following of devoted listeners, and after a while, he developed a routine for his regular airtime. “I would get off of work, go and pick out my music, and then just sleep the entire Saturday after that, which was fun,” he said. “During the first semester, incoming DJs can only pick music from the station so they can get acclimated with the library, which I think is a good rule to have in place,” he said. With tens of thousands of items to choose from, Wujek never felt limited in creating his sets and exposed himself to all kinds of new and unfamiliar music.

“It was a good learning experience to prepare me for what I do now,” Wujek said about his current 12 A.M. to 3 A.M. timeslot. “I have a much bigger audience now. I also get a lot more call-ins.”

Wujek shared that he can connect with his listeners now through word-of-mouth and call-ins. WXYC 89.3 is accessible through FM and a mobile application, allowing him to reach a wide range of listeners all over the world. He once got a call from California during one of his shows, and even saw a Twitter post that someone from China was tuning in.

“I think what changed the most is how comfortable I was with my shows, song sets, the music I was choosing, and the transitions between songs,” he said. He now has the opportunity to bring his own vinyl and CD collections that he owns into the station for his shows. This lets him add a more personal touch to his sets and incorporate styles of music that are less abundant in the station’s library.

“Everyone always says, ‘Oh, I listen to everything,’ and I think that kind of rings true for me as well,” Wujek said. “When it comes down to it though, I’m a big R&B guy. There are a lot of great vinyls to choose from, and my dad collected a lot of CDs too, so I have a lot from his collection. I love the whole genre, but if we had to go recent: Summer Walker. She’s up there as my #1. In the past, I’d say SWV—so lots of ‘90s R&B—and Brandy’s up there. 702, Boyz II Men…different groups like that. I like the old-school stuff and I can get down with some of the newer stuff too.”

Though Wujek has stayed loyal to his R&B devotion, he revealed to me how DJing has opened him up to new songs and genres in ways he wouldn’t have anticipated. “A lot of it is WXYC. Finding new songs that way. A lot of it is listening to other people’s shows on the radio and what other people are playing. I think a lot of where my taste has come from is from other people.”

Spotify has played a large role in introducing Wujek to new music as well. He shared, “I like looking through different genres. Sometimes I’ll think to myself, ‘I like this song, let me see what else this artist has.’ I’ll go through my ‘for you’ page and look at my ‘daylists.’ When I’m bored, I’ll type in two letters and see what comes up, which might seem kind of crazy, but it’s a great way to find new stuff,” he shared.

Diversifying his music taste has helped Wujek find songs to include in his sets during his WXYC journey and in discovering new ways to play with form. During his time as a DJ, Wujek has learned how to treat set-making as an art form, similar to how a collage combines individual materials to form a larger picture. “A big part of it is playing songs back to back that kind of mesh well together. I’ve started to have a greater appreciation for how music is played one after the other, how it transitions.”

Wujek claimed that the way he approaches choosing songs for his show depends on the circumstances. “There was a lot of experimental stuff going on in the beginning in terms of how I was curating my set,” he said. “I tried to do themed sets. Once I did artists from different countries and some sets were based on emotion. If I was trying to go for a certain feeling or theme, I would pick music based on that and the time. In the last hour of my set this semester, I’m getting tired, fewer people are listening, so I start to play lower energy stuff.”

“My favorite moments,” he said, “are when you’re in the middle of a set, and have this great transition, and you receive a call from somebody who says ‘Hey this sounds really great. Keep it up!’ If you’re kind of in the groove of a set, it all seems to mesh well together. That’s my favorite part of it.”

At the end of our discussion, Wujek offered these candid, encouraging words for any students considering getting involved with college radio:

“Do it. That’s the best advice I have. If you’re thinking about it, do it. Apply. There’s a lot that you can do with the radio. Just putting yourself out there and trying is really important.” Wujek went on to emphasize just how versatile radio can be, whether it comes to the business, social, or news side of things. “There’s so much you can do with it.”

Wujek continued, “Other advice I have is to keep an open mind when listening to music. So many people have an idea of what they think a genre is and then they never listen to that genre. Don’t be afraid to listen to something you think you won’t like.”

You can catch Joe Wujek on air with WXYC 89.3 FM this coming semester, and you can find his Spotify here. With over 200 playlists to choose from on Wujek’s profile, he recommends checking out “flutters” and “dim lamp collection.”

Strike Out

Writer: Emily Clemente

Editor: Lindsey Limbach

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