Alumni take over Moore Hall Radio during Homecoming Week
Alumni from the School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts are ready to take over the airwaves they once ruled when they were on campus.
"I think the wonderful thing about it is it's alumnus from all years of our program," said Peter Orlik, BCA department chair. "We have a rich history that dates back to 1972 and we have some folks form almost that far. When you get that generational mix that’s great for everyone, the alumni and our students."
Tom Moore and Bill Thompson, two '70s graduates, threw the idea out to the department, and it was accepted. The event had minor success the first three years of the takeover, but as word traveled, Thompson said more alumni wanted to get in on the action.
A $25 per-shift donation was set as the event began to grow. Soon the event was 48 hours long, broken into two to three hour shifts where alumni could go on the air.
Thompson said the only limitations were those by the Federal Communications Commission.
Thompson is now the audio news editor of the Michigan Radio Network, and Moore is a news anchor and reporter for WTAM Cleveland.
From humble beginnings, the alumni take over at WMHW 91.5 FM have expanded from merely having fun to positively impacting the BCA program.
The fundraising from selling time slots became so large, the alumni were able to create the Al Painter Outstanding Newcomer Scholarship in memory of Painter, who died in 2006.
"We wanted to give back, it was just stated at $100 now its $500 to a faculty selected freshman or transfer student," Thompson said.
They have been working to raise enough funds to make it an endowed scholarship. The alumni need $10,000 to achieve this, and Thompson said he expects to reach that goal this year.
The alumni takeover will start at midnight on Friday with Ron Dewey, who graduated from CMU in '84 and now works at WWJ Newsradio 950, a CBS-affiliated AM radio station in Detroit. He will be playing songs from the band Yes.
Dewey said this will be his third year as a part of the takeover. He said he always has a lot of fun returning to his home turf.
"I did a Saturday shift (the first year), and I got the same goosebumps I had 28 years ago," Dewey said. "All the same feelings of excitement and anxiety came back to me."
At 3 p.m. on Friday, there will be a live broadcast of the dedication of the radio stations to Jerry Henderson, a retired faculty member of the School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts.
There will also be a remote broadcast in the alumni tailgating lot from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday.
Some of the other segments include "History of Military Music," "Songs from Cinema" and "Wayback Wayside."
Moore said alumni come from all over the nation to take part in the event. Some even come as far as Washington D.C. and Chicago. Thompson said one alumni participated over Skype while he was in South Africa.
"I was never in a fraternity and several of the guys were, but the station is like a fraternity once you're in it," Thompson said. "I've kept in touch with these guys since I graduated."
