Your rescue from the radio wasteland

Many students new to the College of Eastern Utah may be asking themselves, “What’s with the speakers on top of the SAC?” The answer is KCEU.
KCEU, a campus radio station, was started during the 2002 fall semester as a part of new curricular offerings from the communication department. This student run endeavor is designed to offer training in audio production and on-air production for students interested in a career in radio broadcasting. This, however, does not mean you must be a communication major to be involved in the radio station. According to Troy Hunt, KCEU’s faculty advisor, “A campus radio station serves many needs. Of course, the primary job is to train people seeking a career. But what if you don’t want to work professionally in radio? No problem. A college radio station is a good opportunity to explore new experiences. All students are welcome to take the introduction to radio class and get on the air.”
KCEU can be found on your AM dial at 1610 kHz, and on your FM dial at 91.1 MHz. The station functions as an unlicensed broadcaster under provisions provided to educational institutions under Part 15 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This allows for educational institutions to operate a non-profit radio station at very low power levels. This provision makes possible a signal that effectively covers the CEU campus including the residence halls. Students seeking to receive the signal should make sure their AM or FM antennas are properly attached to their receivers and tune in.
Students will find music on this station that is different than one finds on the other local stations. The station’s primary format is alternative and follows the Radio and Record’s weekly report of the 40 most played songs on commercial radio stations for various formats. The station also offers a variety of recurrent and older songs. Hunt says, “I am seeking students with an interest in other music styles who would like to present a specialty program once a week. This could be Hip-Hop, Punk, Heavy Metal, or other musical genres that are not currently represented in our format or the local commercial stations.”
KCEU will also help promote campus-sponsored events. Campus clubs, organizations, and academic departments seeking publicity for performances, dances, lectures, or other events can provide that information to Hunt in a timely fashion, and those events will be publicized on the station.
“There are many new and exciting opportunities opening up for us,” said Hunt. “The speaker on top of the SAC will soon be retired and replaced by ones with a better frequency response range. This will improve the sound of the audio across campus as you walk between classes. The addition of an FM transmission is a new offering this year. I would like to thank ASCEU for their support in helping us obtain the technology needed to begin broadcasting on the FM band. We are also examining the possibility of streaming our signal to the web. This will open up a new opportunity for KCEU to reach a wider, off-campus audience. When we start streaming we will make a large public announcement.”
Students wishing to be involved in the radio station need to take communication 1560, Introduction to Radio. The class meets this semester on Tuesday and Thursday at 1 p.m. After students complete the introduction class they may continue earning credit by taking communication 2560, radio performance.