WXCI: A Look Back at 25 Years on the FM Dial
by Cindy C. Sturm '93
ALUMNI NEWS
At approximately 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, February 28, 1973, WXCI received a call from Western Union saying there was a telegram for them from the Federal Communications Commission. Students Peter Oths and Evans Travis ran out of Memorial Hall, hopped into a car and drove off to obtain the telegram, leaving a group of extremely nervous members of WXCI pacing the hallways. To a group of fifty students, Peter and Evans returned with the telegram from the FCC which gave WXCI approval to begin broadcasting. Accompanied by screaming and hugging, Tom Zarecki was inside the studio switching on equipment for the big moment which would fulfill the organizations long awaited dream.
At exactly 12:30 p.m. the campus and greater Danbury heard the voice of Rob Abbett "Good afternoon, this is FM radio station WXCI in Danbury, Connecticut, beginning its first broadcast day."
Looking back on that historic day, Tom Zarecki (BA '87) recalls that when the WXCI first went on the air it was broadcasting with only 10 watts. "The station did not have a lot of power, but we were still so amazed to listen to it outside the boundaries of WestConn." Zarecki wrote the station's original charter and was the Operations Manager in 1973. "I remember later that day traveling with a few friends to a small hill off of I-84's exit 9 to listen to the station."
The events on February 28, 1973 Proved to be a great achievement for all, but the FM station's roots began years earlier. In 1968, a group of interested students approached the Student Government Association to fund their campus organization called The Campus Broadcast Association. The SGA granted them a $150 budget to start building a radio station.
A year later, the WXCI prototype WSCT signed on the air in a broom size closet room. WSCT transmitted only to Litchfield Hall, Fairfield Hall, Newbury Hall, and the student union. "The station had been like an intercom system," says Zarecki. If students were lucky, they could also hear the station on 540 AM at select spots on campus.
Many events contributed to transforming WSCT AM to WXCI FM. The most significant occurred in the spring of 1972 when Ralph Nader came to speak to a capacity crowd in Ives Auditorium. The sponsor of the event had to turn away hundreds of people, many of whom heard Nader on WSCT's broadcast of the event. According to a March 15,1974 Echo article, as a result of the event "people began to see that this rinky-dink P.A. system could actually do something positive."
Later that spring, a referendum was held to increase student fees by $3.00 to help absorb the costs of changing to a FM station. When all the votes where counted, Western students answered with a resounding yes!
Eleven months later, WSCT became WXCI. "We wanted to keep WSCT, but the FCC said that there was already a WSCT somewhere in South Carolina," adds Zarecki, now a radio consultant and trainer. "Our second selection was XCI, which stands for the Roman numeral equivalent of 91, the station's frequency on the FM dial."
From 1973 to the early 1980's, the station maintained a block format, which consisted of 2 to 3 hour shows playing everything from folk to progressive music. In 1983 the format of the station changed to what it is today. "We were playing mostly rock 'n' roll and jazz when I arrived, but changed to new music which included acts like U2 and REM," says Scott Brunjes (BA '85), General Manager from 1983 to 1985. "Punk or new wave music began to really become popular," says Daryl Ohrt (BA '85), Program Manger from 1983 to 1985. "A lot of our listeners wanted to hear it so we went for the change in format."
Since then, major label acts play side by side with independent and local performers, sometimes resulting with WXCI playing hits well ahead of their time. Rolling Stone praised WXCI for giving new groups exposure. The station has also been ranked among the top fifteen college radio stations in the country.
In the late 80s and throughout the 90s other awards have been bestowed upon WXCI and its members. "We have been recognized for our newscasts and sports talk shows by the Associated Press," says Melissa Wasik (BA '94), General Manager from 1992 to 1994. "The members of the station have such a strong commitment to it...they put a lot of effort into WXCI and it shows."
Soon another change will take place in the evolution of WXCI. Five years ago, the Federal Communications Commissions allowed the station to increase its signal. Now in time for its twenty-fifth anniversary, WXCI has moved its tower to Western's Westside Campus, obtained all new equipment and soon will quadruple the size of its signal.
"WXCI has been operating with 760 watts for the past twenty years," says Pete Partenio, Chief Engineer for Western Connecticut State University's new music station since 1987. "By the end of this year we should have everything in place to increase the signal to over 3,000 watts."
The station will soon be able to reach a much larger audience and now has equipment equal to those of commercial stations. WXCI is a training ground for many who aspire toward a career in radio. It provides skills that could be used at any commercial station in the country from engineering to recording. Many of the station's alumni have gone on to careers in radio or the music industry.
Robert "Rabbet" Abbett, the first voice broadcast over the WXCI airwaves, credits WXCI with changing his life. "I was active in WXCI for five years," says Abbett. "I made a demo tape and applied for a gig in Hartford at WHCN FMfor a while I worked part-time, then they offered me a full-time position and the rest is history." Abbett went on to work in radio for nineteen years, most of it as a rock jock and morning man in Hawaii. Now he is putting together music shows for the Internet through a company called Progressive Networks.
To some alumni, WXCI gave not only career inspirations, but fostered an entrepreneurial spirit. Daryl Ohrt worked in the music business for 10 years after graduating from WCSU as a music buyer and is now the head of his own company Visual Intelligence Corporation. "I gained experience from WXCI that I could never learn from a textbook," says Ohrt. "Fortunately I made a lot of mistakes while at the station...that I am grateful for. I walked into the work world more experienced thanks to WXCI."
Daryl now works frequently with a former executive board member of WXCI, Scott Brunjes, who also operates his own company Media Associates. "My experiences at WXCI really prepared me for a career," Scott says. "I practically lived at the station because it was so demanding of my time. To many it was more than just a club, it was a labor of love."
Congratulations and happy 25th birthday to the alumni and current staff of 91.7 WXCI. FM. The success of Western Connecticut State University's student operated station represents what dedication, hard work and tremendous devotion can realize.
ALUMNI NEWS
At approximately 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, February 28, 1973, WXCI received a call from Western Union saying there was a telegram for them from the Federal Communications Commission. Students Peter Oths and Evans Travis ran out of Memorial Hall, hopped into a car and drove off to obtain the telegram, leaving a group of extremely nervous members of WXCI pacing the hallways. To a group of fifty students, Peter and Evans returned with the telegram from the FCC which gave WXCI approval to begin broadcasting. Accompanied by screaming and hugging, Tom Zarecki was inside the studio switching on equipment for the big moment which would fulfill the organizations long awaited dream.
At exactly 12:30 p.m. the campus and greater Danbury heard the voice of Rob Abbett "Good afternoon, this is FM radio station WXCI in Danbury, Connecticut, beginning its first broadcast day."
Looking back on that historic day, Tom Zarecki (BA '87) recalls that when the WXCI first went on the air it was broadcasting with only 10 watts. "The station did not have a lot of power, but we were still so amazed to listen to it outside the boundaries of WestConn." Zarecki wrote the station's original charter and was the Operations Manager in 1973. "I remember later that day traveling with a few friends to a small hill off of I-84's exit 9 to listen to the station."
The events on February 28, 1973 Proved to be a great achievement for all, but the FM station's roots began years earlier. In 1968, a group of interested students approached the Student Government Association to fund their campus organization called The Campus Broadcast Association. The SGA granted them a $150 budget to start building a radio station.
A year later, the WXCI prototype WSCT signed on the air in a broom size closet room. WSCT transmitted only to Litchfield Hall, Fairfield Hall, Newbury Hall, and the student union. "The station had been like an intercom system," says Zarecki. If students were lucky, they could also hear the station on 540 AM at select spots on campus.
Many events contributed to transforming WSCT AM to WXCI FM. The most significant occurred in the spring of 1972 when Ralph Nader came to speak to a capacity crowd in Ives Auditorium. The sponsor of the event had to turn away hundreds of people, many of whom heard Nader on WSCT's broadcast of the event. According to a March 15,1974 Echo article, as a result of the event "people began to see that this rinky-dink P.A. system could actually do something positive."
Later that spring, a referendum was held to increase student fees by $3.00 to help absorb the costs of changing to a FM station. When all the votes where counted, Western students answered with a resounding yes!
Eleven months later, WSCT became WXCI. "We wanted to keep WSCT, but the FCC said that there was already a WSCT somewhere in South Carolina," adds Zarecki, now a radio consultant and trainer. "Our second selection was XCI, which stands for the Roman numeral equivalent of 91, the station's frequency on the FM dial."
From 1973 to the early 1980's, the station maintained a block format, which consisted of 2 to 3 hour shows playing everything from folk to progressive music. In 1983 the format of the station changed to what it is today. "We were playing mostly rock 'n' roll and jazz when I arrived, but changed to new music which included acts like U2 and REM," says Scott Brunjes (BA '85), General Manager from 1983 to 1985. "Punk or new wave music began to really become popular," says Daryl Ohrt (BA '85), Program Manger from 1983 to 1985. "A lot of our listeners wanted to hear it so we went for the change in format."
Since then, major label acts play side by side with independent and local performers, sometimes resulting with WXCI playing hits well ahead of their time. Rolling Stone praised WXCI for giving new groups exposure. The station has also been ranked among the top fifteen college radio stations in the country.
In the late 80s and throughout the 90s other awards have been bestowed upon WXCI and its members. "We have been recognized for our newscasts and sports talk shows by the Associated Press," says Melissa Wasik (BA '94), General Manager from 1992 to 1994. "The members of the station have such a strong commitment to it...they put a lot of effort into WXCI and it shows."
Soon another change will take place in the evolution of WXCI. Five years ago, the Federal Communications Commissions allowed the station to increase its signal. Now in time for its twenty-fifth anniversary, WXCI has moved its tower to Western's Westside Campus, obtained all new equipment and soon will quadruple the size of its signal.
"WXCI has been operating with 760 watts for the past twenty years," says Pete Partenio, Chief Engineer for Western Connecticut State University's new music station since 1987. "By the end of this year we should have everything in place to increase the signal to over 3,000 watts."
The station will soon be able to reach a much larger audience and now has equipment equal to those of commercial stations. WXCI is a training ground for many who aspire toward a career in radio. It provides skills that could be used at any commercial station in the country from engineering to recording. Many of the station's alumni have gone on to careers in radio or the music industry.
Robert "Rabbet" Abbett, the first voice broadcast over the WXCI airwaves, credits WXCI with changing his life. "I was active in WXCI for five years," says Abbett. "I made a demo tape and applied for a gig in Hartford at WHCN FMfor a while I worked part-time, then they offered me a full-time position and the rest is history." Abbett went on to work in radio for nineteen years, most of it as a rock jock and morning man in Hawaii. Now he is putting together music shows for the Internet through a company called Progressive Networks.
To some alumni, WXCI gave not only career inspirations, but fostered an entrepreneurial spirit. Daryl Ohrt worked in the music business for 10 years after graduating from WCSU as a music buyer and is now the head of his own company Visual Intelligence Corporation. "I gained experience from WXCI that I could never learn from a textbook," says Ohrt. "Fortunately I made a lot of mistakes while at the station...that I am grateful for. I walked into the work world more experienced thanks to WXCI."
Daryl now works frequently with a former executive board member of WXCI, Scott Brunjes, who also operates his own company Media Associates. "My experiences at WXCI really prepared me for a career," Scott says. "I practically lived at the station because it was so demanding of my time. To many it was more than just a club, it was a labor of love."
Congratulations and happy 25th birthday to the alumni and current staff of 91.7 WXCI. FM. The success of Western Connecticut State University's student operated station represents what dedication, hard work and tremendous devotion can realize.
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