In the basement of Schneller Hall, 147 S. Loomis St., WONC-FM 89.1 is putting the finishing touches on its new location.
Relocated for new student commons project
Since 1997, North Central College’s student-run radio station has operated out of Oliver Hall. But the house was demolished this summer to make room for a new student commons.
“It served us very well for those 29 years,” DeWitz said. “The college needed the space on the corner of East Chicago and Brainard. They knocked down Oliver Hall and a couple other buildings because they’re building a new student center and dining hall, which is pretty important.”
Student-run music and broadcasting
WONC is a 24-hour radio station, featuring commercial-free music, sports broadcasting and newscasts by North Central students since 1968.
“Students are allowed to create their own specialty shows. They provide news and sportscasts throughout the day. They do all of the audio production. They do a lot of social media content creation, and we do a lot of things on campus to provide entertainment,” DeWitz said.
New space for work, hanging out
The station moved out of the old house and into Schneller Hall at the end of July.
“This was really the best space that was available. This was the best opportunity to keep everything kind of in one room and build to suit,” DeWitz said. “So we have our main broadcast studio, Studio A, which is where students go on the air. They’ll give their newscasts, their sportscasts. They do their DJ shifts in there. We have Studio B, which is our production studio. We have what’s called a TOC or a rack room, which is all the transmitter equipment. And then we have a news area where students can put together their newscasts and sportscasts. We have a little kitchen over there with a fridge, a microwave, coffee maker. We have a pantry with snacks, and then a lounge area where they can just relax in between classes.”
Schneller Hall was also chosen for its proximity to The Chronicle, the college’s student-run newspaper.
“I know that members of the station are also a part of The Chronicle, so they’ll talk to me about being a part of the Chronicle and how cool it is,” said junior Luke Gooding.
Gooding is one of 54 students involved with the station this year.
“I’m very optimistic for this year because we have so many students with us. It’s the most I think I’ve had since my time as the general manager, and we continue to add people almost daily through the first few weeks. So very excited about what we have here and where things are going,” DeWitz said.
“It feels very homey. There’s like a lot of space for people to do their own things, like just tables for people to do their work on their laptops. And mainly, I sink to the chairs because of all the comfy cushions that they have. And it’s actually just like a very great area overall,” Gooding said.
Remembering the history at Oliver Hall
Though he said the new space will serve the station well, Oliver Hall holds a special place for DeWitz.
“I miss Oliver Hall. I was a student here for four years, and then as the general manager, I spent a lot of time there,” DeWitz said. “But I think when it’s all said and done, the students will really appreciate what we have here, and it’ll work really well for us.”
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