WYUR To Air Again

Broadcasting to Begin After Pesach

By Alan Goldsmith

At one time, Yeshiva’s undergraduate radio station, WYUR, was a mainstay of campus life, offering such a wide array of programming as classic rock, new wave, Israeli and Chassidic music as well as talk shows, not to mention live broadcasts of all Macs basketball games.  Due to equipment and funding problems, however, the station went into decline, eventually ceasing operations in 1999.  For the first time in over two years, however, insiders are promising that Yeshiva students will once again be listening to WYUR broadcasts, as soon as school reconvenes after Pesach vacation.

Two attempts in the past two years to revive WYUR have been unsuccessful.  Now, Yeshiva College Junior Josh Younger has begun an effort to finally succeed at permanently reviving the radio station at Yeshiva.  Early results indicate that this effort may indeed bear fruit.  “We’d like to begin active broadcasting after Pesach,” said Younger.  “Although I can not give you a definite, specific date, it will happen this academic year.”

Younger’s comments shy away from a bold statement made by Student Council President, Lou Shapp, last week on Nachum Segal’s JM in the AM radio broadcast, where he claimed that the station would be broadcasting “next week.”

In his effort, Younger has enlisted students at both the Wilf and Midtown Campuses to evaluate and test the broadcasting equipment.  “The equipment is adequate but in definite need of renovations,” stated Younger.  “There are transmitters in each building, but some function while others do not.”  A successful test broadcast was done in the Morgenstern dormitory a few weeks ago, but the task of restoring service to every residence hall on both campuses remains monumental.

Robbie Zeitz, a Yeshiva College alumnus who served as WYUR’s station manager for the 1987-88 school year, fondly reminisced about the activity that took up most of his extracurricular time.  “It was one of the strongest student activities that existed at the time,” asserted Zeitz.  “Unfortunately, during the station’s move to its current headquarters in the Schottenstein Building, a lot of excellent, new equipment was broken or disappeared,” thereby leading to the station’s inactivity.

The Yeshiva College Student Council and the Yeshiva administration have currently offered some support for this effort, with the administration providing facility accommodations for WYUR meetings.  More fundamentally, throughout the past few months, YCSC has been funding initiatives aimed at fixing transmitters that have been broken for over two years.

“I met with [Jewish radio host] Nachum Segal a few weeks ago, and he recommended a technician who would help us fix the transmitters for Muss and Brookdale, two dorms that are not yet ready to accept broadcasts,” explained Shapp.  “As of now, Rubin and Morg are ready, but we decided to wait another few weeks until WYUR could be transmitted to all the dorms.”

Shapp also mentioned that aside from regular broadcasting, YCSC is planning on instituting broadcasting over the Internet.  “Just like the Macs live broadcast, Internet broadcast for WYUR will happen soon as well, but I cannot promise that will happen as soon as after Pesach,” he said.

Dean of Students David Himber expressed support for Younger’s efforts, while remaining unsure as to whether further resources would be provided by the administration.  “We would certainly like to see the radio station up and running,” said Himber.  “Students enjoyed it and it was a nice, fun campus activity.  Whether Yeshiva would be willing to spend money on it depends on the amount involved.  It is a student activity, and therefore it is the Student Council that is responsible for financial support.”  Indeed, as Shapp asserted, “YCSC has already poured in hundreds of dollars, and we will continue to do so if necessary.”

There are greater reasons for the administration to be behind the revival of Yeshiva radio.  As part of an ongoing effort to implement a Communications Major at Yeshiva College, the administration established a media class that would be able to use WYUR’s facilities to give students hands-on experience with communications and related technology; an active station would facilitate easier use of such equipment for these classes.

Adam Cohen, the Yeshiva College senior who provides play-by-play commentary for the Macs Live Internet broadcasting of Macs basketball games, is serving as an advisor to the WYUR revival project.  “I definitely would love to see simulcasts of Macs Live on the Internet and on radio as well,” said an enthused Cohen.

Cohen’s current role is to provide consultation based upon his background in broadcasting and his knowledge of how WYUR operated prior to its closing.  In his opinion, WYUR radio offers great potential for Yeshiva.  “A radio station adds greatly to campus life, especially because it naturally creates excitement among students,” said Cohen.  “We have a good, motivated guy in charge and there’s a better environment in this school now.  The administration needs a radio station more and will work with a charismatic guy like Josh to achieve that goal.”

Ultimately, however, time will tell how this long-standing effort will translate into actual activity.