Station headquarters for UCLAradio.com are located in a forgotten hallway atop a neglected staircase in the dim, gray, drab northwest corner of Ackerman Student Union.
The average student is unaware of just how to get to this seemingly secret studio, even if this average student is aware of the fact that UCLA has a radio station and has had one since 1964.
Standing in curious contrast to this humble setting are the daringly global hopes of the station’s newest program, “World Stew,” and the two charmingly ebullient DJs at its helm.
“We both have very different tastes, but we’re able to come together to play a bunch of music that you don’t normally hear,” said cohost Gloria Negrete.
A third-year women’s studies student, Negrete and cohost Juliet Ovalle, a third-year sociology student, team up once a week to bring the complexities of global music out of the abstract unknown and into the public conscience ““ and all with a “political edge.” Though some of the subject matter may be hard to swallow, Ovalle urges listeners to get out of their comfort zone.
“Suffering may make us uncomfortable, but it’s all part of a growing experience. If you push an experience away that makes you feel uncomfortable, you’re kind of denying yourself of that. You have to ask yourself, “˜Why does that make me uncomfortable?'” Ovalle said.
Every Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Negrete and Ovalle climb those hidden steps in Ackerman up to the studio and launch their campaign to personally introduce the UCLA populace to the world, its music and its people.
“I love world music, but the idea behind (the show) was that, while we’re all part of this entire world, how much do we know about things that are going on?” Ovalle said. “It’s important for us to be aware of the things that are going on around us.”
Thus emerged the name of their show, with various definitions of “stew” as a verb being relevant: “to become strong and bitter with prolonged brewing,” “to be in a state of great anxiety or agitation,” or “to be steeped or imbued with.” All play a part in the feel and overall message of “World Stew.”
It may seem like a Sisyphean task to try and compact the complexities of international affairs and culture into the airwaves for a two-hour block once a week, but for Negrete and Ovalle, it’s a task which they are all too eager to take up.
“We may not be like the big radio stations where you get thousands of listeners, but over here, we’re excited if it gets to the double digits,” Negrete said.
In recent years, UCLAradio.com has seen a drop in listeners, in spite of efforts to become more accessible. As of 1999, the station ceased functioning off the frequencies of a terrestrial radio station and now exclusively broadcasts online via live stream casts. One doesn’t need a radio to listen to UCLAradio, just a computer and an Internet connection.
“World Stew,” one of the station’s newest programs, has only been in existence for the better part of five weeks now. Still in the process of working through all the kinks of production, Negrete and Ovalle persevere week after week, bustling behind a maze of wires, cables, switches, microphones and headphones. Sneezes, snacks and bathroom breaks have to be put on hold while on the air.
“World Stew” currently joins the ranks of 50 other student-run shows on UCLAradio.com that play hip-hop, R&B, soul, electronic, ska, reggae, rock and even segments devoted to news and sports updates.
The station itself is a small, cramped, L-shaped room with a low-hanging ceiling and walls entirely lined with CDs. The walls, painted white at one point, are now completely covered with graffiti, stickers and curious doodles. No blank space is left untouched. Turntables, CD players, iPods, and computers cover the counters, as wires and cords spill over in a black rubber waterfall.
During those Thursday afternoons, amid this organized chaos, students’ voices can be heard.
“Welcome to “˜World Stew,'” Negrete and Ovalle call at the start of every show. “”˜World Stew,’ where there’s no borders and no passports necessary.”