The on-campus radio station, WAQU, meant to link students together by means of music and communication has not been broadcasting for over two years now. One student with the help of only a few is on a mission to resurrect the station and bring the music back to the Aquinas community.

Although intensely devoted to the revival of the radio station, Tyler Kalahar was appointed to the lead role of the radio station by a process of elimination. Joining the club for something to do, and to listen to free music, Kalahar never expected to take on a project this big. 

The process of getting the station back up and running is no easy feat, but one group of students has all the dedication to get it up one way or another. Although the students are having a slow start, the group has made tremendous strides since the station first stopped broadcasting two or more years ago.

When they took on the project, Kalahar and crew thought the equipment was just not working, and they would have to get new equipment altogether, only to learn that the only problem was the broadcasting license of the station had expired. 

Now, even though they know what they need to do, Kalahar is having a difficult time getting the station up and running. 

Kalahar said there is a “lack of communication and little progress,” making the process very difficult. As the students and adviser Marty Fahey work to get the station in order, they seem to be having a lack of communication within the group of broadcasting companies with whom they are trying to work. 

The lack of communication is not deterring Kalahar and his crew though. Kalahar said that even though there are only five students working with him out of the 25 students that signed up to work on the station at Saint Stock, he could not be happier with the group of five with whome he gets to work. Kalahar said that they are a good group of people to work with and are very ambitious. He added, “Sometimes you have to deal with the difficult stuff to get to the good stuff.”

Although listeners cannot hear anything on the station now, he is encouraging students to get involved in the process while there is still much work to be done. Kalahar said that not only will ITS take them more seriously and put their technology needs more toward the top of their list of priorities, but students that join now “will get to help start the radio station and be able to leave behind a legacy” at Aquinas when they leave.

Once the club gets their license renewed, Kalahar is confident that they can make many more strides. As of now, they are just working on getting the station up and playing music, but he does have some plans once WAQU is revived.

Kalahar said it’s important for students to realize that although WAQU is not playing music right now, they still have a presence on campus and are working just as hard, if not harder than other clubs.

The club will also have a promotional event next month with a raffle of tickets to local concerts for bigger bands coming to town. At the end of the year, Kalahar and his crew are hoping to have an event in which they will celebrate all the success they have made throughout the academic year.

Although Kalahar believes it is a stretch to get the station playing music this year, he believes they can be up and operational for next fall. To get involved with WAQU, Kalahar encourages students to go to the upcoming events or email him through the Aquinas e-mail system.