It was midnight on a Saturday in November when the moment finally arrived. A crowd of alumni, gathered in the halls of Carleton University’s CKCU 93.1 FM studio, had dwindled as the night crept toward the witching hours.
The soft harmonica and guitar melody of Joni Mitchell’s “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio” filled the room as enthusiastic cheers and applause quickly drowned it out.
It had been exactly half a decade since it was first played on the station. For alumni, it’s become more than just a song. It marked 50 years of CKCU 93.1 FM, Carleton’s only independent radio station.
In 1975, CKCU became the first campus-based community radio station in Canada, with its first broadcast aired on Nov. 15 that year. Today, the largely volunteer-staffed station broadcasts in 14 different languages, supports local and independent artists and offers radio training to volunteers of all skill levels. The station broadcasts 24 hours, seven days a week, on both the web and the airwaves.
The City of Ottawa celebrated the station’s milestone by officially proclaiming Nov. 15 as “CKCU 93.1 FM Day,” according to CKCU.
Over the Nov. 14 anniversary weekend, former volunteers were reunited — including some who travelled across the ocean to be a part of this celebration of community, independence and resilience.
‘It’s not for corporate media’
Alumni David Mowbray reminisced about the original station on radio 670 AM.
“When I was a student here a long 50 years ago … I spent more time on the fifth floor (of Nideyinàn) where the studios were for Radio Carleton, than anywhere else I’ve spent in my life, except in my own bed.”
Allyson Rogers, a Carleton music and politics scholar with a PhD in communications, called community radio a “participatory space” that pushes back on “privatized corporate media conglomerations.”
“Historically, these spaces have been able to be transformed into significant movement-building (hubs),” she said, pointing out the diverse age range of the CKCU community.
“There’s much learning that can happen when there’s an intergenerational space, and community radio is one of them,” she said.
Rogers added CKCU’s independence allows for “more creative possibilities” and is part of what makes it so valuable to the community, a feeling shared by volunteers of the station.
Maharshi’s show, which means “Stay Awake” in Hindi, is a celebration of music from the Indian subcontinent.
He added he appreciates the magic of live radio, including speaking with phone-in listeners.
“I love doing live shows because I believe (it) gives me the opportunity to connect with my audience better,” Maharshi said. “A recorded show takes away the natural delivery of a dialogue. It is very surgical.”
[Photo by Erik Stolpmann]
Her show, Daydream Frequencies, caters to “hip university students,” playing music from local artists like Out By Lucy, The Lifers and hannah vig.
“It’s really impressive that we have a platform for students to be able to practice those skills,” Pridham said.
Bruce White, one of the anniversary weekend’s organizers, said CKCU strives to be as different as possible from commercial radio stations.
“As long as you come to us with an idea like that, it’s going to go places. It’s not like you need to know anything to be a volunteer here,” White said.
He added: “The 50th anniversary is in part looking back but largely looking forward.”
He also said that a significant piece of building the anniversary weekend was tracking down alumni, jokingly calling himself an “alumni email harvesting technician.”
“My last count was 910 alumni for whom I have email addresses, (but) there are 1,300 names I’ve never been able to reach,” he said. “We still have some work to do on making that better for the 55th or 60th anniversary.”
There were also additional tech barriers that posed difficulty when trying to do outreach. “Up until 1990, you probably didn’t have an email address the whole time you worked at CKCU,” he said, adding that he must not have gotten his until 1995.
Fire alarms, not a bad omen!
On the first night of the anniversary weekend, not even an unexpected fire alarm could dampen the mood.
“I don’t think it’s a bad omen,” said Arjun Nijhawan, a former show host and volunteer, who said he was happy to be back at the university to see some familiar faces.
A few hours after the first fire alarm during the anniversary event, a second one rang out. As they waited in the cold, attendees speculated about whether they would make it back inside for midnight.
“It’s a little bit unfortunate, because we are 20 minutes away from our anniversary broadcast,” Romsicki said, adding that he hoped they could play the station’s inaugural Joni Mitchell song at midnight.
“I don’t care what happens,” Canadian Spaces host Chris White said with a laugh. “If that building is in flames, if it’s falling down around me, I am going up there, and I am playing Joni Mitchell at midnight.”
of Friday night’s social. [Photo by Erik Stolpmann]
“We’re not in it to make money. We don’t play the top 10 hits all day long. We present a wide variety of music. We offer a training ground for volunteers who want to learn about journalism, who want to learn about radio.”
Looking ahead to the future, Houston said the station will leave a lasting legacy that he hopes will live on for another 50 years.
“I won’t be here, but maybe you will.”
*Audrey Pridham has previously contributed to the Charlatan.
Featured image taken by Erik Stolpmann
