Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C
SPACE STATION
WQFS
by Bob Johnston
WQFS, 90.7 FM, is Guilford
College's student radio sta
tion. It is run by students and
financed entirely by students'
activity fees, through the
Senate. WQFS is not
controlled by the college
publications board; the station
has a faculty advisor,
necessary to approve requisi
tions for funds. WQFS has a
non-profit, non-commercial
educational license which
allows it to transmit "educa
tional, cultural, and entertain
ment programs to the public."
Its license does not require
that the station have a regular
schedule, nor does it allow the
broadcasting of commercials.
WQFS did not blossom
overnight. Years were involv
ed in just planning. In 1965,
students interested in "radio
communication, fine music,
and the dissemination of
educational programs" form
ed the Fine Music Broadcast
ing Society. The purpose of
the Society, as stated in its
constitution, is "to maintain
and operate the FM radio
station licensed to Guilford
College..., to promote an
interest among the student
body in fine quality broadcast
ing as well as to make the
students aware of its great
potential as an educational
medium; (and) to provide an
educational service to the
people of Greensboro and the
surrounding areas, thus pro
jecting the cultural image of
Guilford College."
The Society was chartered
in the fall of 1965. A year
later, the Board of Trustees
approved a request, submitted
by interested staff members,
to make an application to the
Federal Communications
Commission for permission to
construct and operate an
educational station.
With these accomplish
ments, the students set out to
put the station together.
Through numerous contacts,
they were able to obtain the
necessary equipment to fur
nish the studio. Friends'
friends, relatives, other radio
The Guilfordian
stations, and record distribu
tors supplied WQFS with free
or inexpensive, new and
used materials. WQMG-"the
stereo island"-provided
WQFS with much needed
engineering help and free
equipment, and its vice-presi
dent, William Taylor, agreed
to be the first class engineer
on call, required for any
station by the Federal
Communications Commission.
On Monday, January 5,
1970, WQFS went on the ait.
It began as a station playing
predominantly classical mi -
sic, with some easy listening
jazz, country and western, and
popular instrumental. WQFS
was called "the golden voice
of Guilford College."
In the fall of 1972, WQFS
was changed from a monaural
station to a stereo station. By
this time, the station was well
on its way to being the kind of
station it is today. WQFS
currently terms itself as a
progressive music station.
This is a vague concept, but it
covers classical, rhythm and
blues, jazz, country and
western, folk, soul and rock.
The station is currently
located in the basement of
Duke Memorial Hall, but will
be moving to new facilities
above the kitchen in the near
future. WQFS has an
operating power of about ten
watts. The studio recently
acquired a brand new control
board and a ten foot antenna
extension, providing the
station with a greater range.
All those interested in
participating in the station are
welcome; announcers must
have a Federal Communica
tions Radiotelephone Third
Class Operator Permit with
the endorsement to operate
broadcast radio stations,
which is good for a lifetime on
U.S. airwaves. A study guide
for this permit is available
from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington,
D.C. 20402, for a price of $.55.
Extremely thorough under
standing of this guide is
H . 1 n I W I I|l1 |1 *%•
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: F / / iv
Roy Buchanan performing in Dana Audorium
Photo by Gcarharl
HOMECOMING REVIEWED
by Jeffrey D. Martin
This year's Homecoming
Week seemed to follow the
trend of past years, being both
exciting and disappointing.
The lack of organization was
evident. Let's review the
events and point out the
successes and failures of this
year's Homecoming.
The two movies shown on
Friday night were well
received by Guilford students.
Most people seemed to like
Slaughterhouse Five, but
many people did not stay to
see Pulp. From the large
number of people attending
and the general satisfaction
after the movies, I would say
necessary to pass the
examinations.
The current management
hopes to add fifteen new
announcers and to have
twenty-four hour broadcast by
the spring of 1975; the current
broadcast schedule appears on
page . Suggestions are always
welcome; the station's phone
number is 294-0706, and its
address is WQFS-FM, Guil
ford College, Greensboro,
N.C. 27410.
the movies were a very
successful event in the
Homecoming Week.
On Saturday morning I
noticed the number of empty
flatbeds around the campus.
Surely somebody must have
started building their float
before now, I thought to
myself. Well, I soon found
that a few of the dorms and
clubs had done most of the
work indoors and quickly
assembled the float later
Saturday morning. Later when
I went do&n to Muirs Chapel
Road to the starting point of
the parade, I found real chaos.
The organization of the parade
was poor. Henry Hood led the
parade playing his bagpipes.
Unfortunately, he had to
compete against the scream
ing siren and the blaring horn
of the firetruck which followed
him. (Who would put a
firetruck behind a solo
bagpiper, anyway?) Only
three decorative floats were in
the parade, which made it less
colorful than it could have
been. The crowd on the side of
the road was sparse until the
center of campus. The nine
artists, the unicyclists, the
marching band, Henry Hood,
and especially the people who
November 8, 1974
built the floats for Binford
Shore, and the International
Relations Club should all be
applauded for their efforts. It
is the only parade of the year
in these here parts and it
seems like the Union could put
more effort into the organiza
tion of a better parade.
The Roy Buchanan Concert
was successful in spite of the
opening band, Flavor. Many
people left after hearing
Flavor for a few minutes. Once
the stage was being set for
Buchanan people filtered back
into Dana. There was a lot of
excitement in the crowd as
Buchanan stepped onto the
stage and began to play. His
music was good, though he
does have a tendency to
depart from the general
movement of a song in order
to show his excellent dexte
rity. The people around me
were jumping up and
screaming after every song
and at the end of the concert,
Buchanan came back for two
encores. The concert was
definitely a success.
This year's Homecoming
had good times and bad. I
hope next year we can correct
some of the mistakes of this
year and also repeat the
successes.