A call to arms against commercial radio and top 40 stations has been met with WVGS 91.9 The Buzz, a student-led organization and campus radio station specializing in streaming funky tunes and trendy talk shows.

The Buzz represents the many musical styles and tastes found on campus within Georgia Southern University. Students who were previously lamenting on being stuck listening to Jason Durulo’s “Trumpets” for the twentieth time this spring, after failing to find new music, are bound to discover rising artists and obscure songs that have not yet touched their ears.

“91.9 offers students an opportunity to listen to not just mainstream hits, but to artists that are on the rise or up and coming. We pride ourselves on playing a diverse pool of genres, including Pop, Rap, Country, Rock, Alternative, R&B, EDM and even others like Caribbean, Latin and International Pop,” Mikalah Guyton, sophomore multimedia film and production major and program director, said. “Students with talk shows are not required to talk about anything in particular. The direction of a student’s show is solely up to the host(s), and they range from girl talk to Korean entertainment.”

The Buzz has had an interesting rotation of musical guests visit their shows, such as Sister Bears, Francis Marion and the Crocodiles, Pour Man’s Fancy, The Rotton Co-Founders, Umphrey’s McGee, Blue Montana, and the Shop Boyz, who are known for their single “Party like a Rock Star.”

The Buzz was first created in Sanford Hall during 1973. A year later, the studio was relocated to three rooms on the top floor of the Williams Center, playing rock, classical, jazz and a few other genres. Originally, the signal broadcast was rather limited, but has significantly grown since then, along with their fan-base. Now, after being relocated back to Sanford, the original birthplace, the station and staff of college radio are making it their mission to continue giving the students music that they want to hear.

“I love this organization because it is strictly student run. The students decide what music to play and what to talk about. It gives students a chance to have their own show and get real experience. This is especially helpful if radio is something they are interested in making a career out of,” Katie Grubbs, senior multimedia communications major and station manager, said. “We also have DJs who live mix for certain shows. We offer a sports talk show on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and a news talk show on Mondays at 10 a.m.”

The Buzz’s accessibility to GSU students is pretty similar to the accessibility of Friends to those with a Netflix account. In fact, any student enrolled in six or more hours and has at least a 2.0 GPA is eligible to apply for their own show or even shadow/volunteer. They also have the opportunity to be involved with the various areas of college radio, whether it be music, programming, technical or sports. The Buzz has applications online through the WVGS 91.9 page on myInvolvement for students’ convenience and already has several openings in the sports department this spring. The applications for spring shows are due by January 28.

With services like Spotify and iTunes, it may seem like radio shows are outdated, but Guyton believes that The Buzz and other radio shows are more arcane than archaic, being able to offer the inherent magic of discovering a passion and sharing it with others.

“Personally, I enjoy interacting with people and I love music, so I can honestly say I enjoy what I do. It is a wonderful opportunity, giving students and peers a chance to give their opinion and their voice, and to share something special to them, whether it’s submitting a song that they personally produced, a show playing a new song they love, or a discussion on a topic he or she is passionate about,” Guyton said. “Whether my voice is heard or not is irrelevant, because seeing the people around me enjoy the one-hour on the mike makes my day better.”