By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Hays High School will be on the air with its own student-run radio station starting next semester.
Two HHS juniors have spearheaded an effort to start a web-based radio station at the high school.
Juniors Isaiah Schindler and Jackson Stanton went to their adviser Dan Balman and suggested the school start a radio station. Balman charged the students with developing a plan to present to the administration that would include what type of equipment the school would need, its cost, the space needed for the radio studio and the licensing required.
“We didn’t want to go to Walmart and get the cheapest stuff we could,” Stanton said. “If we were going to do it, we wanted to make it so it would last and be worth the effort. We didn’t want to make a sub-par program.”
The administration approved about $900 for the purchase of a mixer, three microphones and stands, and a computer and software for the program to be paid out the high school’s regular audio/visual program budget. Balman predicted it will cost about $1,000 per year to keep up the cost of subscriptions and licensing for the station.
Eventually Balman said he hoped the students will sell advertising to help support the program.
“They took the ball and ran with it,” Balman said of the two students. “It is a big deal they were able to do something with it.”
Although the students will be gaining practical experience running a radio station, Balman said the skills they are learning in communication may be even more important.
“They had to use their communication skills,” Balman said. “I am not talking about technology. I mean face-to-face.”
Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson has said school programs in all areas of study should build communication skills, Balman added.
“As these students go out in the business world, whether they go into radio or not or go to college or not, this is going give them an advantage. They have had to give a presentation and listen to what other people say. I am proud of them.”
Schindler has been involved in radio for several years, doing his own programming on short wave and Caster.fm. He said radio/TV may be his future profession and this a good way to gain some practical experience.
Stanton said the radio station will let him explore his passions.
“For all my life music has been a giant passion of mine. I also love technology and computers. Radio just sums all that up and lets me listen to the music I like to listen to and the equipment I like to use and use the computer programs I like to use. It is just like the perfect scenario for me,” he said.
Radio may be his passion, but not his profession. Stanton said he thinks he would rather study herpetology in college.
The station will play music from local musicians as well as classic rock from ’80s and ’90s and maybe some current pop. Stanton said getting the licensing for the music was the most challenging aspect of the project. The students are continuing to grow their catalog. Stanton is a big classic metal fan and looks forward to pumping out some Black Sabbath on the new station.
The station, which will air from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. will also include some talk programming and sports casts. The students hope to interview students, teachers and administrators as well as broadcast HHS sports, such as football and basketball.
The students are still waiting on some computer equipment and expect they will need more training before they are ready to go live. They should hit the internet in mid-January or February. There should be a link to listen to station on the HHS website once the station goes online.