Lafayette College’s student-operated radio station, WJRH, has been down for almost a year due to technical issues. Progress has been made in getting back on the air with the hiring of two engineers who have identified key issues with WJRH’s broadcast capabilities.
Scott Lowe, one of the engineers was hired by the WJRH executive board last April. According to Lowe, he brought “current standards and practices of radio broadcasting” to the station.
Lowe then brought along Scott Legath, a retired commercial broadcast engineer, during the fall semester to assist with the mechanical side of the project. Legath emphasized that the last recorded transmitter operation, which charges the radio station, was upgraded nine years ago.
The broadcast “was in a very distressed state as far as operation goes,” Legath said, describing that the station required a “big tune-up.”
“I’m really happy I got it started last semester,“ general manager Tess Stanley ’25 said about the renovation project. She dealt with difficulties last semester during its beginning due to funding issues. The group has now secured adequate funding from a variety of sources including Student Government and the college administration.
“The first hurdles were getting some administrative support and Student Government funding and trying to find alternative sources of funding,” she continued.
The timeline of the repairs is dependent on Legath, according to WJRH community outreach director Jen Parsons ‘26.
“I don’t know how long these repairs are supposed to take, but I think he’s working as fast as he can,” Parsons said.
“No one has given me a real timeline request, so I go over there as I can and do some work,” Legath said on the reconstruction.
In the absence of live shows, WJRH has been hosting social events to promote community within the club. WJRH is hosting “listening kickback” events in the basement of Hogg Hall, the location of the radio station.
“I think if [WJRH] keeps doing stuff like that, it would be a good kind of bonding moment for people who might be missing the station,” said Hannah Gilman ’24, a co-host of the in-limbo radio show “Radio Rebels.”
Stanley hopes that the station will be reopened by the end of the semester. She emphasized that the engineers’ work would result in long-term improvements for the station.
“I don’t mind making a couple people frustrated now to have many more generations of radio hosts happy,“ Stanley said.
Disclaimer: Design Director Jen Parsons ’26 did not contribute writing or reporting.
