KMSU showcases diversity through international cultures show on Saturdays
Niya Basha
Staff Writer
Pretty much every kind of topic is brought up on KMSU Radio’s various programs, according to Station Manager Jim Gullickson.
“We have students on-air over the noon hour every day and they talk about what’s on their minds,” Gullickson said. “We have specific programs about birds and nature, cooking, gardening, racial justice and volunteerism.”
KMSU 89.7 FM is the campus radio station. It’s also online at www.kmsu.org or on the TuneIn Radio app as “The Maverick.” It’s located at Suite 205 in the Alumni and Foundation Center building, just north of Chipotle.
All full-time students are eligible to work at KMSU.
“The most opportunities are working for our news program,” said Gullickson.
KMSU has been around since 1963. And the story behind this station is that it has morphed over the years into what it is today: a station run by two full-time employees—Gullickson and Karen Wright, the operations director—about a dozen students per semester, and over fifty volunteers from the community. KMSU mostly plays music, but there are plenty of interviews/public affairs programs, too.
Radio Hispana is one show at KMSU that emphasizes and promotes different cultures found at MNSU. The show is represented by international students and goes from 4 to 6 p.m.
Radio Hispana started two years ago with two international students, Ramiro Vinan Vega (from Ecuador) and Diego Flores (from Colombia), when there was a vacant one hour slot (4 to 5 p.m.) during the Spanish section of KMSU. In the beginning, the radio show was in Spanish and it focused on the Hispanic culture, hosting guest Hispanic students from MNSU to talk about their cultures and play their music.
During this time, the radio show received one more hour of airtime to go until 6 p.m. Vinan Vega, who co-hosts the show, explained that Radio Hispana became an international radio show last year when it became in English and started receiving more international students.
“We have received students from Indonesia, to Australia, all around the world, who share about their culture with stories and with music,” Vinan said.
Flores had to leave the show because of graduation, but will still occasionally call in to talk on the show. Pablo Sotomayor, another international student, took over Diego’s position, and has been innovative towards the show, adding a horror story section at the end of the show.
