Students at Neumann University’s radio station broadcast live for 24 hours Oct. 7 to celebrate College Radio Day and generate support for the Knights’ Food Pantry.

The featured event at 98.5 WNUW was an outdoor broadcast from noon to 4 PM in St. John Neumann Circle.  

Nick Coppola and Alex Castells, both communication and digital media majors, anchored a four-hour food drive to benefit the Knights’ Pantry, the university’s initiative to counter food insecurity on campus.

The pantry was established in September 2021 by Rina Keller, a professor of social work; and Mary Beth Davis, a counselor. In recognition of their efforts, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf designated Neumann a “hunger-free campus” in September of this year.

The College Radio Day celebration began with a kickoff party at midnight in the WNUW studios and continued until midnight on the day of the 12th annual event to build awareness of the creative programming that college radio stations offer.

“College Radio Day is a day where students who are searching for their voice get amplified on a global level,” said Sean McDonald, director of Neumann Media and general manager of the radio station.

“College radio is one of the last unfiltered platforms for creative expression and music discovery. This is our 10th year celebrating CRD, and we decided to show the power of our microphones and help our fellow community members by organizing a food drive for the Knights’ Pantry,” he explained.

Programs during the rest of the College Radio Day broadcast were Beatles Hour, Christmas Hour, Vinyl Hour, Mindful Music Hour, and a collection of other shows hosted by students.

According to the College Radio Day website, “College radio is one of the last remaining bastions of creative radio programming, free from the constrictions of having to be commercially viable, and the only free live medium brave enough to play unsigned, local, and independent artists.”

To learn more, visit BA in Communications and Digital Media | Neumann University