“The Bucknellian” holds production every Wednesday evening in Stuck House on Seventh St., but what you may not know is that we share this space with another media-producing team: WVBU-FM 90.5, or VBU, Bucknell’s resident radio station.
Video may have killed the radio star, but VBU has quite the rich history from decades on air. VBU, also known as “The Voice of Bucknell,” came to life in 1924 just as radio was taking its roots as a media form. Although this was followed by a 15-year hiatus, with the popularization of radio in the 1940s, VBU soon became a success. In 1977, it was awarded the fourth best college radio in the country.
In a 2017 “Bucknellian” article, then-DJ Kathryn Lenker ’20 said, “My parents went here in the 70s. Back then people didn’t own music; you had to turn on the radio. Everyone knew the DJs because everyone would be tuned in on a nightly basis.”
Even in 2017, VBU was still a fairly active broadcast on campus, with features such as “Saturdays at Stuck,” where students are invited to visit Stuck House and play songs of their choice. One of VBU’s central focus was, and still is, engaging the campus community, whether it be in person or through your speakers. In April of 2019, WVBU was sold to WVIA-FM radio to even further expand their community outreach and remains in collaboration with them still five years later.
Presently, VBU continues to stream music 24/7 on both 90.5 FM and vbu.bucknell.edu. VBU has also continued to live up to its title as “The Voice of Bucknell” and features student radio shows and podcasts.
Ever thought, “Wow, my friend and I are so funny that we could start a podcast”? Well, students Paige Gilmartin ’26 and Jordyn Weber ’26 thought the same thing and began a comedy podcast about college life, “The Yappy Hour Show.”
“We wanted to start it because our friends told us we were funny and we thought people would enjoy hearing our stories,” said Gilmartin. “The two of us love to talk, and we sort of already talk like we’re doing a comedy podcast, so we decided to start our own!”
“We love the freedom of WVBU, as we can go in and record whenever we’d like, which allows us to both continue our other extracurriculars as well as schoolwork.”
Gilmartin and Weber go live every Wednesday night, looking to share some funny and relatable stories to help get you through the rest of the week.
VBU has continued to capture students’ interests, and there are a handful of students with some prospective shows in mind.
For example, Bucknell’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) is looking to create a podcast to expand their connections to the campus and local queer community.
“The [podcast will involve] discussions about on-campus events run by the GSA and other LGBTQ+ centered organizations, national and global events, important days (such as Transgender Day of Remembrance) and their significance, and more,” Oren Bukowski ’26 told “The Bucknellian.” “The idea is to have people who identify as LGBTQ+ share their stories and talk about culturally significant moments. It should be fun, quirky, and sometimes serious as we delve into a broad range of topics. I hope this podcast will make people feel more welcome at Bucknell, connecting students to LGBTQ+ life and other on-campus resources. While this podcast is currently in the works, we hope to start officially next semester!”
“I haven’t been able to host a show this semester, but I am certainly interested in starting one in the future,” said Abby Katz ’28. “The training that I attended for VBU made it clear that there are several possibilities for participating with the station. I hope to possibly co-host with my friend next semester and put together shows relating to a weekly theme or genre!”
Bryce Merry ’25 excitedly shared with “The Bucknellian” that he was recently approved for a radio show he calls “The Monday Midnight Morning Show,” fittingly streaming from 12-1 a.m. on Monday mornings (or Sunday nights, depending on how you look at it).
“I just thought it would be a fun thing to do, and something that I wanted to do before I graduated,” said Merry.
So the next time you’re stuck in traffic, need some background noise to do some homework or are still waiting for a new episode from your favorite podcast, consider tuning in WVBU-FM 90.5. You just might hear a new song you like or get hooked on a student podcast.
