what makes WCDB so special?

There are thousands of college radio stations around the world, and all of them have their special qualities. As college students who were exposed to WCDB in one way or another, we choose to acknowledge how our involvement in the station has impacted our lives. And it seems a nearly ubiquitous trend that station members cite WCDB as a life-impacting experience. For one, SUNY Albany is a large public University, with a truly diverse student population from all areas of the planet, but still somewhat in the "driving-distance" shadows of New York City. For each type of student at the school is a composite, representative type of WCDB member, bringing both varied interests and commonality of goal: to entertain friends and strangers over the airwaves of Albany, New York (and now over the web stream). As a fully student-governed station, WCDB morphs and caters to the needs and wants of an ever changing population, truly reflecting the evolution of music, college life, and what it means to be an "alternative to the discourse of mainstream popular culture" which is easily found on almost every commercial radio station. And second, WCDB largely communicates that evolution and that alternative stance mostly by using the universal language of music. Not just the music promoted by major and indie music labels, but by bands and artists themselves who send recordings and visit the station to play their music on the air.

We may be biased, as station members who look fondly upon our station experiences, or we may lack any basis of comparison with membership in other college radio stations, but for me and many former members whose names grace these pages, we do think WCDB is so special. Whether it is special among all stations is not important; it is special to us. The time we spend there, however long, totally rocks. And it rocks us.

We hope you enjoy our tribute to WCDB, not just as a collection of CD players, microphones and transmitting equipment, but as a group of individuals and a concept which gave purpose to weeks or years of our college existence.

If you've got stories or information to share, by all means get in touch!