by Scott Peet

Hawk Radio is celebrating College Radio Day this year with a housewarming party in their new studio location.

Members of the station are inviting students to join in the celebration, which begins this Thursday, October 3^rd at 3 p.m. The station will broadcast for twenty-four hours staright.  The station staff will be there to show off the new studio space in the Student Activities Center of Franciscan Hall, and hopes to pack the house with games, events, live performances and prizes through the night.

Program Director Rosalie Constable has taken the lead of organizing this year’s event and shared some of her plans with The Scribe, including a late night video game tournament.

“There’s the new Hawkade,” Constable said. “This will be the first time that we really get to utilize it so I’m excited to see how that works”. The games in this tournament are friendly and open to all, so it might be time to start practicing your skills at Mario Kart, Pac-Man and Centipede.

Ryan Zunner, Hawk Radio’s station manager, will be taking to the stage with his new band “The Midnight Ramblers” for their very first performance.  Their blend of modern music and classic and blues rock will be there to add some energy to the evening at 8 p.m.  Following this live act, there will be an open mic hour where students and staff can show off their talents, musical or otherwise.

The nine-year-old station has seen some ebbs and flows in participation in the past, but this move seems to be sparking interest and awareness of their presence on campus. “Getting more of a visible place where people can see and interact with us I think will be important,” Zunner said.

Hawk Radio is still in its infancy as far as college radio stations are concerned, but this can be a springboard for them to boost their outreach throughout the college and bring in new listeners or team members.

This event is free to attend and all are welcome to use and enjoy the space throughout the evening. There will be a few chances to win prizes including a raffle for a front row parking space. The winner of this spot will have VIP parking privileges for one week outside of Paczesny Hall. Team members will also be selling popcorn during the movies where they will continue with their radio theme featuring “Talk Radio” and “Good Morning Vietnam”.

In previous years, funds raised during College Radio Day were donated to outside organizations,. This year all proceeds will be directly focused on improving Hawk Radio. The station does not receive funding through the Student Government Association and is instead supported through donations and out of pocket expenses paid by Faculty Advisor Don Vincent and staff.

“Raising money for ourselves is really important right now, so we can make the station better for the people involved in the station, and the college as a whole,” Constable said

This housewarming party is part of the 9^th annual World College Radio Day meant to promote awareness of this unique platform and the hundreds of stations around the globe that will participate. College radio is an outlet for students to share their creativity with an audience and the medium has a long tradition in providing a place for free thinking and independent content. The new location combined with the event is being viewed as an opportunity for growth and expansion by Zunner.

“To actually have our own dedicated studio room and to really showcase that to the campus is going to be a really fun time,” he said.

For those who cannot attend in person, the broadcast will be available through hawkradio.hilbert.edu.