• Intro
  • 18/08/2020

Intro 2020| Community Radio hands the mike to the associations

For everyone who wants to listen, but especially for our prospective first-years, TU/e Community Radio has once again created a studio so that it can broadcast throughout the whole of Intro. On five afternoons and two evenings, the three-strong team is handing the mike to the associations. Between the tracks being played, this is a relaxed way for Intro kids to pick up some info about TU/e’s sports, cultural and social associations.

by
photo Bart van Overbeeke

Student radio is nothing new at TU/e. This is now the third time that master’s student of Computer Science Wouter de Ruiter (left in the photo) has created a radio studio. It all started at GEWIS, the study association for Mathematics and Computer Science. For the Intro of 2018 he and others on his program thought it would be fun to broadcast from their association’s bar.

In the early days of the lockdown, this studio was quickly revived to help maintain a strong sense of community among TU/e staff and students. The radio stayed on air, broadcasting programs, for ten weeks, much longer than had originally been intended. During this period, automotive student Melvyn Williams (right in the photo) was brought in as an engineer. This time around he is working as a DJ. “I was given a crash course in twiddling the knobs on this particular mixing desk.” The third DJ is Ruben Brinkman. This student of Software Science has no radio experience, but like the others can talk the hind legs off a donkey. 

Daan Vijselaar had the honor of hosting the first broadcast. He talked about Hubble, his own student years and how – despite the odds – he managed to pass calculus. Photo | Bart van Overbeeke

“One of the station’s aims is to publicize the associations,” says Wout. “During regular Intros they are visible all week long; now we are offering them the airtime to put themselves out there.” Airing every afternoon from four to six, the broadcasts dovetail nicely with the Intro program. This afternoon and tomorrow afternoon the theme will be sport at TU/e. The last two afternoons will be devoted to culture. Student social associations SSRE and Demos are each providing an evening session. The Eindhoven Student Corps was offered a slot but didn’t have the ways and means to host a broadcast.    

Radio is really not hard to make - that’s the view of Wout, Ruben and Melvyn. Their tip for the producers is to do more than just play music, “Spotify’s got that covered”, and to be themselves. “If you simply act like you’re having a chat with someone for the first time in student cafe Hubble, for example, and you are genuinely interested in the other person, you’ll soon find yourself having a relaxed chat.”

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