WIUS: Behind the music

The house at 815 E. Eighth St. might seem like just another college hangout. \nThe rooms are filled with worn and mismatched couches and chairs. A stuffed black gorilla wearing a green Hawaiian shirt sits next to a wrestling trophy and a little paper house on a mantle over an unused fireplace. The smell of pizza lingers in the air, and empty pizza boxes fill the trash cans. \nStudents often hang out there -- chatting about events at school, joking around, maybe tossing a football. \nBut this isn't a typical college student's haven. This is home to the WIUS family. \nWIUS, 1570 AM, is "pure student radio," an on-campus radio station run by students. Most student staffers work a few hours a week. But for a few, their jobs consume a lot of time. Although they don't get paid, students say their rewards are personal satisfaction, friendship and a family atmosphere. \n"Music's important, but music is only so much," junior Cody Leitholt, station manager said. "It's the people at WIUS that make it worthwhile." \nDJ Nick Blandford, a freshman, agreed. "It's just a house and equipment. If it was nothing more than that, I wouldn't want to be here." \nSophomore Erik Johnson, the program director, said the thrill of being on air has diminished. He continues to work there because the personalities at the station create a distinct flavor. Compared to a typical media outlet, he said "it's like pickles and peanut butter." \nAlmost everyone who works at WIUS spends some time in the radio studio upstairs. The studio is filled with CD players, tape decks, two turntables, three microphones and a soundboard. The aqua blue walls are covered with music posters, station reminders and a dry-erase board with irreverent quips about station workers. \nA Wednesday edition of "Watch us Jumpstart," hosted by Blandford and Leitholt, reflected the laid-back and relaxed atmosphere that helps to keep the students working there. \nOff air, the two chuckled as they listened to a Gremlin's interlude playing over the air. The interlude started to skip and "Billy had broken" repeated over and over again throughout the studio. They burst out laughing. Blandford switched to a song by Causey Way as the two doubled over. \nLater, Blandford slipped up on-air and said, "If anyone would like to Cody, talk to Cody …" \nLeitholt interjected, "I didn't know my name was a verb." \nThe bantering and horseplay don't stop in the studio.\n"Everybody just has a lot of fun," Leitholt said in one of the rooms downstairs. "It's as much fun as mild professionalism will tolerate." \nJust as he finished his sentence, something shattered in the other room. Leitholt headed next door to inspect the damage. He came back a minute later to report that two guys had been tossing a football when it hit a cracked pane of glass in one of the office doors and broke it. \nDespite the relaxed atmosphere, the students know they must be serious about their jobs. \n"We do act professional," said music director David Rosenstein, a senior. \nFor an on-camera interview, Leitholt asked Rosenstein if he could borrow his sweater so he would look more professional. Rosenstein gave Leitholt his sweater, leaving himself in jeans and a faded "Old 97s" T-shirt. \nAs music director, Rosenstein reviews CDs, makes charts to send to labels and promoters and is organizing the 12,000 CDs in the music library. He also DJs a show every Thursday evening. Rosenstein said he is at the station five or six days a week for three to four hours a day. \nJohnson's job as program director keeps him busy. For three weeks last August, he slept only an hour a night.\n"That was the most stressful," he said. "If I fall, there's no one to catch me." \nDuring the last week of February, he spent about 50 hours at the station. His work included DJing, administrative work and piecing together the on-air schedule of DJs. \n"(In the) worst weeks, sometimes it feels like I never leave the station," he said. "I got two hours of sleep last night and I did it in a chair in the station house." \n Johnson is constantly on the move -- talking to people, taking phone calls and training DJs. It is only during his Monday show from 6-7 a.m. that he gets to relax. \n For Leitholt, the level of stress depends on how much time he devotes to WIUS. His weekly hours at the station can range from 10 to 40. Besides doing a twice-weekly radio show, he cleans up, speaks on behalf of the station and listens to feedback. \nThis year, reapplying for a part of the student activity fee and trying to get the station a low-power FM frequency added stress to Leitholt's job. \nDespite moments of burnout, Johnson said his job is rewarding. He's proud when someone likes a show on the air or a DJ tells him how cool it is to work at the station. Catching the DJs on-air and meeting different people are additional perks. \nThe rewards contribute to making the station a home.\n"I'd probably come here instead of going to class," he said.