Try this experiment: find a large group of UP students and ask them what KDUP is. If more than 50 percent of them can tell you, you’ve run into a group who are friends with a disk jockey. Now ask them where KDUP is. If more than 10 percent can tell you, you’re probably lying. It’s been this way the entire time I’ve been at UP. Having worked at the station since my freshman year, I can personally tell you how ridiculous these (entirely made up) statistics are.
KDUP can be exactly what you need it to be. If you want a building to yourself for an hour while you blast your favorite music at high volume, KDUP is for you. If you want to explore new musical tastes and have access to new music before it is officially released, KDUP is for you. If you want your opinion heard, or if you just want a place to give your opinions out loud, you can do it at KDUP. Because our school is so small, we have the opportunity to allow for complete creative freedom for all of our DJs, and DJs are taking complete advantage of it. We’ve seen shows ranging from talk shows, music shows, comedy routines and periodic readings of “Animorphs” at KDUP.
Not to mention our events. Every Saturday we come to Pilots After Dark to play music from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. We put on house shows, backyard barbecues and our annual winter show where we bring in amazing bands and put on a killer show simply for your enjoyment (Nov. 15, save the date). Our news department is putting out extremely entertaining and informative videos (@KDUPNews) while our music department is bringing in new music and keeping you all updated on what CDs and shows you should keep an eye out for. There are only nine of us on staff, but we are doing everything we can to keep the music scene alive and well on campus.
KDUP is a place to make friends, express yourself and practice skills like public speaking and organization. Plus it’s something you can add to your resume that you will actually enjoy doing. But the fact remains that student participation is low at KDUP. If there were more participation, we could get a bigger budget to bring in bigger artists and get equipment for the artists at UP to record and practice on. Without it, students aren’t given this vast creative space for students to express themselves and have a good time.
What does this mean for you? Well, for starters, you should become a DJ! If that’s not for you, you can hop online and listen to our amazing DJs we have already. You should come to our free events, like us on Facebook, follow our Tumblr and Twitter, and maybe even stop by the station. If you have a band and would like to play at our events, or you want to live DJ or interview bands, you should let us know! Oh, and for the record, KDUP is located to the left of the Commons behind St. Mary’s.
Katie Husk is a is senior civil engineering major and the KDUP general manager. She can be reached at husk14@up.edu.
Listen to the live stream at kdup.up.edu https://www.facebook.com/kdup.collegeradio http://kdup.tumblr.com
