Radio station makes waves with students

What comes over their airwaves may be a little less conventional, a lot more comical and aimed at pleasing a younger crowd, but Oakland County's student-run radio stations sound anything but amateur.

Located in high schools across the county, the stations are manned by students who usually take radio classes for credit.

They make news broadcasts, edit news wire reports, act as disc jockeys and hold fund-raisers.

“They enjoy being part of a group and being on the air — let’s face it — it’s show biz,” said Pete Bowers, station manager at WBFH at Bloomfield Hills Andover High School since the station went on the air in 1976. "They are very professional.”

WBFH, 88.1 on the FM dial, broadcasts Monday through Friday and students perform all of the major functions.

There are stunts — taping the legs of someone wearing shorts and squirting six cans of whipped cream down them or making someone sit on a block of ice — tht have happened during WBFH's annual spring fund-raisers for the March of Dimes.

But generally, students take their jobs seriously.

“Everybody does put a lot of time into the station,” said Peter Starkel, a senior who has worked many hours at the station.

Starkel hosts a new music radio show and plays music by groups such as The Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Love and Rockets.

He said students have to show they’re responsible to get on the station’s staff.

“Look at U of M — one bad remark and the whole station was wiped out,”Starkel said, referring to an allegedly racist comment that caused a stire on the Ann Arbor campus.

At student-run stations, there are all-rquest shows where callers pick the music, mellow music shows, heavy metal periods, news and sports broadcasts, talk shows and comedy shows.

Senior Marc Silver, 17, is one of the hosts of The Fast Lane, a two-hour ad-lib comedy show that airs 8-10 p.m. Wednesday nighst.

Silver, known as the “Silver Bullet,” has two co-hosts, Scott “The Gator” Anderson and Guy “The Catch” Cacciarelli. During their time slot, the trio performs parodies, sings songs and has sort of a free-floating program.

“I would love to go into radio, but you have to make a living,” said Silver, adding it is his fourth semester on the radio station’s staff.

JoAnne Purtan, 18, daughter of Detroit radio personality Dick Purtan and operations manager at WBFH, has won several regional competitions for her radio broadcasting abilities.

“It is fun, it makes you feel you’re just not in high school at a high school radio station,” PUrtan said. “There are some nights you wonder...is there anybody out there, and there are other shows where you’ll have 16 requests (for songs).”

Senior Celeste Montone, 17, says she’s nervous every time she goes on the air. “It's a weird feeling — people can’t see you and you can be anybody you want to be,” said Montone, who has been on the station’s staff for one year.

All the students are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and must take classes to prepare them for working at the station, Bowers said.

Other Oakland County student-run stations include WOPR in Oak Park High School, WOVI in Novi Senior High School, WSHJ in Southfield High School and WAHS in Avondale High School.