Tucked away in the basement of North Court is WDCE 90.1, student-run and operated since 1961. With cozy old couches, indie band flyers on the walls, and shelves of vinyl records and CDs, it’s the kind of place that’s easy to settle into.

Station Manager Mike Clifford first got to know the station as a UR freshman in 1997, back when it was located on the third floor of Tyler Haynes Commons. He saw a flyer for an interest meeting and stopped by.

“That first semester I was an intern for a show. And it was so much fun. I loved it so much, from day one,” said Clifford, standing in the station’s DJ booth. A nearby desk held a turntable and other equipment. The booth’s windows overlooked the station’s library and lounge. A song with a laid-back vibe was streaming.

Student radio began as WCRC on Nov. 2, 1961, switching years later to its current FM iteration. Before a student can get their own show, they’re required to shadow other DJs for a semester. The skills have been passed down from generation to generation for 62 years.

“It’s almost like a game of telephone,” Clifford said.

Clifford eventually became the general manager. He and another student, Brett Morgan, ran their show on Tuesday evenings. “We have similar musical tastes, so we ended up doing a show all four years.” Today, they remain best friends.

“We’re a 100-watt station with a 9-mile radius. You can get your top 100 Billboards on a commercial radio station. That’s not why people tune to WDCE,” Clifford said. “They want to hear something that’s new, fresh, underground, unheard of. Sometimes bad. But you’ve got to have the bad to have the good, right?”

The station is especially supportive of local bands, playing artists like Sparklehorse and Lucy Dacus long before they were famous. Recently, there are new songs from student band Dogpark to play.  

“We’re completely open genre — whatever the DJ wants to play within reason,” he said. “It’s so funny to see what the students are picking out now. It seems like they are infatuated with ‘90s and grunge. They think I’m ancient and want me to try to find old stuff.”

Students from last semester even created sweatshirts featuring an old WDCE logo.

During Clifford’s time at UR “electronic music was really coming into its own in America, and so we would hold raves here on campus, and they were hugely successful. The first one we did was in the Alice Haynes Room in the Commons.”

Students can host a two-hour music show or a one-hour talk show. Shows range from the music of Asia, hip hop, R&B, jazz, folk, and rock. A dystopian radio play recently started.

Sophomore Alivia Palalay, an undeclared major, scoped out the radio station before she even started at UR. Her aspirations to become a DJ started in high school. “I play a lot of ‘90s alternative rock and folk on the air, but most of the time I play whatever I am feeling at that moment,” Palalay said, of her show Fool’s Gold. “Lately I’ve been incorporating themes into my sets, collaborating on the playlist with guest co-hosts.”

Some of her favorite bands include Wilco, Built to Spill, Smashing Pumpkins, and Radiohead. “I am a sucker for heavy distortion, dreamy, and synthy tones paired with an angsty man’s vocals.”

Palalay said the station is on the rise. “The other night my friend told me, `I feel like everyone and their mother has a radio show now,’ which I took as a compliment as people are recognizing our growth.”

Senior Katherine Coffey, a mathematical economics major and leadership studies minor, is the station’s program manager and has her own show, Brain Fog. “I try to create a hazy atmosphere through rock, soul, and folk music,” Coffey said. “I love my time at the station. Having two hours a week blocked off to hang out with friends, draw, or have some me-time while hosting my show is amazing, especially during busy times. It is a great break.”

Clifford began as the first station manager in August 2022. His full-time position is as director of technology operations at the Richmond Audacy, an audio company that provides the signals for local radio stations and podcasts. He also has a show on Alt 102.1, Underexposed with Clifford.

While songs are available digitally in the system, the students love physical media, and request them from the labels, he said. They like to have CDs and records that they can touch, and want to see the artwork. One student DJ last semester played exclusively vinyl.

Clifford is the station’s first paid employee, but students run the show at WDCE. “There’s oversight and help through the faculty advisor, but the executive staff is all students. They’re leading the way of what happens.”

“Mike is an amazing mentor,” Coffey said. “He strikes a great balance of channeling the station’s history while also making the station as modern and efficient as necessary with his IT work.”

The station plans to soon begin broadcasting student and other musical performances from the concert halls at Modlin. The equipment has already been purchased. The students are also pushing to do an open-mic night at The Cave, located on old fraternity row. And they want to be a part of more live music events, like Spider Day.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the station, Clifford says, is watching the students grow in their confidence and skills.

“With college radio, it’s about getting better as you go along. You’ve got to try things out, you’re going to fail, you’re going to sound bad, something’s going to go wrong. But you learn from it and keep going. And you notice yourself getting better each and every show.”