WUVT: Radio for Everyone! 90.7 FM

Katie's on the left; Sarah's on the right. On with the interview:

Rachel: What is the biggest challenge you have faced as traffic directors?
Sarah: Starting from the ground up.
Katie: Putting a whole new [automation] system in place.
S: When we got here, it wasn’t even a written program.
K: It wasn’t anything.
S: Had to learn the program and get a completely new group of people to come learn it.
K: When we had just learned it too; we were trying to make it easy for them to learn, but we were just figuring it out.
S: Seems pretty nicely in place now, it was just a little horrifying in the beginning. Now it’s less horrifying.

R: What has been your favorite experience as traffic directors?
K: Honestly, working with Sarah. I’ll type an email out and she’ll be like “Oh that’s good!”
S: We give each other encouragement and I like hanging out here. It’s good.

R: How have your music tastes changed since joining WUVT?
S: I listen to the radio station, so I hear songs that I never would have heard and I go to concerts that I never would have gone to, which is cool. I never would have known there’s a genre called Chinese Rock.
K: That is true, until we came here. I still have my go to genres, but overall I would say I am more open minded with music now.
S: Yeah, I am less judgmental of songs I hear and bands I hear playing because they are such young bands. I think if I had heard them when I was in high school I would have been like, "where is the auto tune? Why aren’t you perfect?"

R: How has WUVT impacted your experience at Tech?
S: I think for me, it kind of filled a void I was feeling. I really like my major, so I really liked all my classes, but I had always been into music. I have been in choirs and that kind of stuff and I have always liked finding new music. So when I got here I wasn’t in a choir anymore, I wasn’t playing an instrument, or that kind of thing. It was nice to find people to talk to about music and listening to music with. It was kind of a break from my classes.
K: Well considering you live in a studio, it’s nice to leave every once in a while.
S: Yeah it’s nice to leave the basement. Get out and see the sun. (Laughs)
K: I thought I was going to be a DJ so I went through all the training throughout that. But I didn’t know I had to be on a staff. So at the end of the semester, freshman year, I submitted my application. They were like, "you are not even on a staff" and I was like "what’s a staff?" I had no idea what was going on. So I joined a bunch of staffs and now I don’t even want to be a DJ, I just like the staffs. That’s kind of my transition of figuring out what I want to do with my life here at WUVT.

R: If you could have your own album, what would the cover look like and what genre of music would it be classified as?
S: Oh I’ve got this. Throughout my life I like finding nicknames for myself. For my imposed career options. I would never be in one of these careers, I would just like to be ready if I am. So I have my cage fighter name, which is the Gemsinator. (laughing) I also have my rapper name; because I am such a tea lover, it would be Tea Mugz and I would rap about different types of tea.
K: Tea Mugz in da house! I must say I have not put that much thought into it.
R: What would the album cover be? Would you be holding tea on it?
K: I think it should be raining tea bags around you.
S: Don’t tea bag me, I just want to be a rapper.
K: [For me] it would probably be electronic something or another. I don’t usually listen to too much electronic, but when I do it’s so energizing and fun. I think it embodies my personality. I would want my album cover to be me standing really epic-ly with rays of light.
S: I could hold you up like Simba!
K: Yes, with rays of light on me. That’s what I would go for. Again, not as cool as Tea Mugz.

R: If the radio station had a theme song, what would it be?
K: Funky Town. I would be down with Funky Town. Because the stickers transport me everywhere. Like I’m looking at that one and I am hitchhiking to Vegas. That one I’m suddenly playing the violin.
S: I was thinking more like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Be ready with some puppets. Marc would be there with his sock puppets and a cardigan.

R: What is your favorite part about working together? What is your least favorite part?
S: I don’t think I even have a least favorite part.
K: I think when people don’t respond to our emails. That makes me really sad.
S: It’s not like we don’t like working together, we just wish people would like respond.
K: Yeah like a little more often.
S: Be as dedicated as I am. (Laughs)
K: Do you have questions? Email us! And we never get any emails. I think we may have gotten three.
S: We wish we had mail in our mailbox. I always check to see if we have gotten mail.
K: Yes and we never do.
S: I think I am going to start writing messages back and forth to you.
K: That sounds good. I would love that, and I would definitely respond.
S: I think my favorite part of working with you is that we're on the same wavelength with this stuff.
K: I agree, we’re both on it.
S: Everybody says traffic is boring, but I disagree. I think it’s great.
K: Exactly! Me too!
S: I think our enthusiasm is infectious, or at least I would like to think so.
K: I feel like we infect each other with our enthusiasm.
S: That is going to be one of my raps.

R: If you had to explain music through a picture, what would you draw?
K: I think it would just be a crazy-ass splash of colors. I think even when you go from soft classical to hard metal, literally anything. I just see colors when I hear music and them moving around in space. So, boom, colors.
S: Mic drop. Colors. I think I would explore music through cave paintings. Just little stick guys dancing around with some buffalo. What are they listening to? I don’t know.
K: Sticks banging together.
S: Banging some sticks together.

R: How do you want radio's impact on the community to grow? What effect do you think it has now?
S: I wish people would listen to it more.
K: I desperately... I mean, I know they usually play mainstream music in the dining halls. I don’t care, I think they should be playing WUVT in the dining halls. That, I think, is the next step to growth. Because it’s literally Tech’s radio station.
S: Some people don’t even know we have a radio station.
K: Yeah, that I think is so sad. I think we should also have a sign somewhere on the 3rd floor in Squires. Yeah publicity!
S: Shameless self-promotion.
K: Yes!! I think WUVT deserves that.