Technology

Back from the dead, WSLC finally launches online

by Dana Stewart

Tuesday November 29, 2005

Technology can be a bitch. Or, rather, a lack of adequate technology can be a bitch.

After months of delays and endless technical difficulties, the Sarah Lawrence web-only radio station launched on Nov. 7, streaming at http://www.slc.edu/wslc. The station has over 60 DJs lined up with shows airing from noon until 4 a.m. most days.
Two student co-managers, Seniors Nick Ostrum and Alex Edelman, along with a support staff of three street team members and Ken Schneck, assistant dean of student affairs, manage WSLC.

Schneck explained that the major cause of the station’s delayed opening was the difficulty getting the station’s analog board fixed when digital soundboards are now the industry standard.

"Once we started fixing things, we noticed all kinds of other things that were broken," Ostrum said. "But we’ve ended up with a lot of brand-new equipment, which is nice."

Ostrum is glad that the station is finally operational and he is also pleased with WSLC’s first events of the school year–a concert by the band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and a launch party featuring a battle of the bands. Both events were well attended, and Ostrum is optimistic about the year to come.
DJ and street team member Senior Ben Apatoff is excited to begin his show in order to spread the message of "awesomeness through rock ‘n’ roll."

He is, however, disappointed that the station was recently denied Senate funding for a WSLC-sponsored concert.

"We have to get all our funding from Senate for bands and I feel kind of like we’ve turned down a show with Bleach-era Nirvana or early Led Zeppelin. It’s too bad," Apatoff said.

The band in question, New York City’s The Giraffes, requested $1,500 for themselves and one other band. The WSLC proposal was turned down for a few different reasons: "They [senate] were hesitant because it was going to be during parents weekend, because I’m not a trained club chair and they thought it was too expensive," Apatoff explained.

Most of the WSLC budget is spent on equipment, as well as CDs and other station materials. The station was granted $4,000 by Summer Senate for upkeep and repairs.

"We don’t foresee the same [equipment] problem next year. Of course, if someone out there reading this wants to buy WSLC a digital sound board, we most assuredly would not turn down the offer," Schneck said.