From the Blue Banner:
After nearly two years of silence and countless hours of work from students, UNC Asheville’s student radio station, the Blue Echo, is set to return to the air this fall.
Ian Hayes, a disk jockey and technician for the Blue Echo, has been a part of the station since he came to UNCA four years ago as a freshman.
He said the hard work and commitment of students made it possible to get the Blue Echo back up and running.
“It’s been more organized in the past year than it has ever been, and we’re not even on the air yet. So once we get started, I think everything will run smoothly. We’ve got a lot of people really committed to making this happen,” said Hayes, a senior multimedia arts student.
According to those close to the Blue Echo, a lack of commitment led to the station’s demise.
Rick Brophy, associate director of UNCA’s Student Activities &’ Integrative Learning department, said students were always eager to sign up for a DJ slot, but the follow-through was a constant problem.
“Once the students figured out the amount of work required, they didn’t want to do it,” Brophy said. “They thought it was just getting in there, picking your favorite record and having fun, which it is, but there’s a lot of work that goes into everything ahead of time.”
Brophy also said once a large portion of the station’s staff and DJs graduated or left school, nobody stepped up to fill those positions and the station slowly began to decline.