Volume CXXXIII, Number 5 October 12, 2001 f

WBOR kicks off jam-packed season
CONOR WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER

As Bowdoin's radio station, WBOR (91.1 FM), kicks off another new season, the station is riding a wave of popularity characterized by a remarkable surge of interest over the last few semesters. "We had to turn people [applying to host shows] away this year," said station publicity director Andrew Daigle. WBOR, a non-commercial station with a focus on indie-rock and off-radio music, has expanded to include programs ranging from R&B and jazz (Dave Niederstadt, Thursday 4 p.m.-6 p.m.) to German Pop (Katie Grote, Monday 10 a.m.-12 p.m.) to Hip-Hop (Walkens Petit-Frere and Marc Mendoza, Friday 9:30PM-11PM), and many others. On the weekends, the station opens up to allow members of the Brunswick community to contribute their unique talents to the station's programming. "You can play almost anything you want," said Daigle, whose Soul Rock show airs 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Zach Tobacco '02 holds it down at the WBOR station. (Liesl Finn, Bowdoin Orient)

The schedule is not only eclectic in its diversity of styles, but also introduces both DJs and listeners to an entirely different world of radio because of its commitment to off-radio music. "Almost everything we play here, you would not hear on the radio," said Daigle, pointing to the speakers in illustration. He did note, however, that different DJs had different policies and almost anything was "fair game."

Last spring the station attempted to implement an online broadcast with RealAudio streaming, but difficulties with the technology and the firestorm following the Napster file-sharing server convinced the station to abandon the idea. Last summer, the FCC ruled that while stations do have rights to broadcast on the airwaves, internet casting violates copyright regulations. When asked about the station's website message that promises "A faster, more direct link will be available within months," Daigle expressed doubt, but did mention the following: "I think eventually they will rule that it's not copyright infringement."

Despite such difficulties, the station is rolling through another season here in Brunswick, providing Bowdoin students and community members with an alternative to standard radio fare.

WBOR has already distributed station schedules in students' Smith Union boxes and expects to have a concise description of each show and DJ biographies publicized in future issues of the Orient. The request line is extension 3250 on campus, and for more information, visit the station's website at http://www.bowdoin.edu/studorgs/wbor/.