The ideal Saturday morning is commonly reserved for sleeping in, indulging in a late brunch, and enjoying the day as it passes. But for college radio students across California, Saturday November 4, looked a little different. Bright and early, buses full of college radio DJs, staff members, and enthusiasts crowded Loyola Boulevard. Stations from 12 different colleges flocked to KXLU 88.9 FM’s stomping grounds at Loyola Marymount University, for the Fall University of California Radio Network Conference (UCRN).
Photo by Carissa Leong (@carissalphoto.cr2)
Over 200 participants joined KXLU in a day fully dedicated to celebrating college radio culture, learning from each other’s practices and other professionals in the field, as well as building connections between the various stations. The typically biannual conference hasn’t happened since the last time LMU hosted in 2019 due to the pandemic. Now back in full force, college music enthusiasts and radio personalities finally get the chance to once again step outside of their usual communities and take the day to engage and connect with the California college radio community.
Photo by Carissa Leong (@carissalphoto.cr2)
Upon arrival, everyone was greeted with a specially designed tote made by Sam Takano, KXLU Music Director, breakfast, and a tour of the radio station. The other stations in attendance were KXSC (USC), UCLA Radio (UCLA), UCI 88.9FM (UC Irvine), KSPC 88.7FM (Claremont), KDVS 90.3FM (UC Davis), KZSC 88.1FM (UC Santa Cruz), KRFH 105.1FM (Cal Poly Humboldt), KCPR 91.3FM (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), KCSB 91.9FM (UC Santa Barbara), KUCR 88.3FM (UC Riverside), KALX 90.7FM (UC Berkeley), and KSDT (UC San Diego). Once everyone got acquainted and learned more about each other’s stations, the day full of workshops, panels, and presentations began.
Art by Sam Takano
There were three sessions throughout the day with different options tailored to everyone’s preference. Session one offered the choice between “Finding Your Frequency,” where panelists spoke about finding your on-air personality, and “Creating DIY Promotional Materials” where the Living Room was filled with button makers, customizable stickers and a screen printing station with UCRN specific designs. Session two included “Training Students and Volunteers,” where students were advised on how to train their peers, “Community Driven Events,” where speakers discussed the power in community events, and “Professor Hu$$le.”
Photos by Carissa Leong (@carissalphoto.cr2)
The “Professor Hu$$le” presentation provided a new insight into the LMU community many students hadn’t heard before. Dr. Mitchell Hamilton, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Marketing at LMU, shared his story about how Grammy award winning musician Nipsey Hussle was set to be an adjunct professor at the institution. He started the presentation by emphasizing the triple bottom line, an accounting framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social, environmental, and financial (people + profit + planet). Hamilton also shared a video about taking his Applied Learning In Societal Transformation (A-List) class to pitch their final project ideas to Nipsey Hussle and his business partner David Gross. This pitch meeting resulted in Hussle giving the class $25,000 to make their projects a reality.
Dr. Hamilton told the story of how Hussle came to be involved with LMU. He had been on campus several times to offer business lectures about his ventures like The Marathon Clothing brand and Vector 90. Every venture he set out to accomplish helped give back to his community in Crenshaw in one way or another. Hussle was even set to be an adjunct professor but was unfortunately shot and killed the week before he was meant to be in the classroom. Through the story of Nipsey Hussle, the audience was able to have a better grasp on how music, business and social change can intersect.
Photo by Carissa Leong (@carissalphoto.cr2)
“Know who you are and be true to that,” said Dr. Hamilton after finishing up the presentation. He leaves radio students with a piece of advice.
“From a marketing professor standpoint, you need to know who your audience is, and that will vary from each student body. But try your best to learn everything you can about your listeners and do everything you can to begin building a happy relationship,” said Dr. Hamilton.
Photo by Carissa Leong (@carissalphoto.cr2)
The final session helped bring life after college to the forefront of attendees’ minds. The options were either “From College Radio to Music Supervisor” and “Life After College Radio” where different career pathways and life experiences were shared with the audience. Following the last session came a keynote presentation from Joel C. High. High is a music supervisor, producer, and current president of the Guild of Music Supervisors. He shared his wisdom and insights about the music industry and college radio’s vitality.
Photos by Carissa Leong (@carissalphoto.cr2)
After a long day of taking in everything college radio, the conference ended with a swag swap and a performance by Sister Gemini. By the end of the swag swap each station took home bags full of unique buttons, stickers, and posters from other stations. As Sister Gemini took the stage, the crowd remained encapsulated by the bands melodic indie sounds and hung onto every note played. Coming together from near and far, Fall UCRN 2023 fostered an inviting environment for all college radio stations to grow and expand their reach together.
Photo by Teia Ciornei (@teiatoast)