KampusFM is bringing KRVS back to its roots

Written byKade Parker

Published

Students filter into a conference room inside the studios for their weekly strategy meeting. The walls are adorned with old music posters and portraits featuring Louisiana musical legends like Clifton Chenier and Canray Fontenot. Their conversation ranges from broken-down cars to nostalgic songs and cat caf茅s, before quickly rounding back to station management. They are the faces of student radio broadcasting on KRVS 88.7 HD2, a new digital channel playing music curated by and for students.

The channel, dubbed , hit the airwaves on Oct. 31, 2023, nearly four months after the anniversary of KRVS鈥 first broadcast 60 years before. When KRVS began broadcasting in 1963, it was student run, billing itself as the 鈥渟trongest force on campus in building up the University school spirit.鈥 Today, with a potential audience of thousands of 青青草视频 students plus a broader global audience through the NPR affiliate鈥檚 online platform, KampusFM is ready to carry that legacy to a new generation of listeners.  

Fred Jolivet adjusts audio levels in the KRVS studio in a 1977 L'Acadien photo.

Listeners who tune into KampusFM on weekday mornings will likely hear the voice of Kaley Mestayer broadcasting from the station鈥檚 control room. Mestayer, a business management senior, is the rookie station鈥檚 first DJ and handles live spots during 15-minute breaks when students are changing classes. The rest of the programming is automated, running into the evening and overnight hours with pre-recorded service announcements by other student volunteers.

Part of what distinguishes KampusFM from a generic playlist is utility. Between a setlist featuring indie bands such as Pony Girl and K-pop stars such as Jungkook, Mestayer provides updates on student organization meetings and upcoming events on campus. According to Mestayer, keeping listeners current with what鈥檚 happening adds value to the station as a source of information to the student body. 鈥淲e鈥檝e kind of wrapped this whole concept around what people are doing all day instead of just blasting music at them indiscriminately, which I think is really cool,鈥 said Mestayer.   

KampusFM鈥檚 role as an 鈥渋nformation pipeline鈥 was part of Kris Wotipka鈥檚 vision when he laid the groundwork for the student station. Wotipka, lovingly referred to as the 鈥淥ld Dude鈥 by the students, is the director of operations for KRVS and a guiding force as the station gains its footing.    

Wotipka has been integral to KampusFM鈥檚 early launch but emphasized that the students retain creative and strategic control of the station. He said he鈥檚 impressed by how fast the students are adapting to running the station, exceeding the time frame of the station鈥檚 launch and early operation by a few months. 鈥淢y whole goal for this was to plant some seeds, watch it develop, and then every once in a while, give it a little nudge here or there,鈥 said Wotipka. 鈥淎s soon as the students feel ownership in what they鈥檙e doing, then it鈥檚 personal, and they will fight for it.鈥  

KRVS鈥 first broadcast 60 years ago was limited to 10 watts, covering an area that was barely able to reach the campus鈥 edge. Now, the station broadcasts at 100,000 watts and, with the addition of the HD digital streams, can reach listeners worldwide. Technology has changed since that first broadcast six decades ago, but the station鈥檚 mission remains the same. Cheryl Devall, KRVS general manager, said this latest embodiment of student radio is an homage to the origins of KRVS. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really a way to honor the way the station began,鈥 said Devall. 鈥淚 want people at UL Lafayette to know that we are here. We are here to serve, and we are committed to an educational mission on so many levels.鈥

 

KampusFM's 2024 group poses in KRVS' Cypress Lake Studio.

 

KampusFM relies on a core group of student volunteers who handle marketing, graphic design, playlist curation and recruitment efforts. These students come from various majors and backgrounds and naturally fit into roles that best serve their strengths and talents. 

Marketing senior Tamir Bryant, who contributes to the station鈥檚 promotional activities, said he appreciated the collaborative nature among his fellow volunteers. He said he鈥檚 fortunate to be a part of a great team. 鈥淲e have an interesting group of people that would have never run across each other,鈥 said Bryant. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what鈥檚 kind of beautiful about it. I don鈥檛 know how I got this lucky.鈥

Photo caption: (from top) KampusFM DJ, Kaley Mestayer, takes notes before broadcasting her morning announcements / Fred Jolivet adjusts audio levels in the KRVS studio in a 1977 L鈥橝cadien photo. / KampusFM members from left: Cathryn Battles, Chloe Matherne, Micah Thurman, Tamir Bryant, Ray Selle, Kaley Mestayer, Lucy Ortiz, Lane Hallum, Beth Harris and Adam Cortez Photo credit: Doug Dugas / 青青草视频, Special Collections / 青青草视频

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