Lifting Up the Student Voice: Why Student Media Matters

[lead]It’s 2017, but you might be interested in what campus looked like in 1970. Venturing to university archives and stumbling upon the 1970 University Report gives you one narrative. Venture to the archives of Technician or Agromeck for 1970, and you’ll find a very different but equally as important story.[/lead]

Student Media consists of Agromeck, Nubian Message, Technician, Windhover, and WKNC 88.1 and serves a variety of purposes. For some students, working at Student Media aligns with their career goals. Whether their career goals are in design, journalism, photography, music, or general media, they can pursue related skills by working in student media. For other students, working at Student Media is their escape. For example, some electrical engineers enjoy working a DJ shift on the weekends.

“Student media provides a historical record,” says Krystal Baker, marketing coordinator of student media. “You get to see what campus was like, what issues students were facing. It’s a recordkeeping of students’ perspectives.”

[pullquote cite=”Krystal Baker” color=”wolfpackred”]“You get to see what campus was like, what issues students were facing. It’s a recordkeeping of students’ perspectives.”[/pullquote]

Over 300 students work at Student Media every year. These students learn leadership skills, gain confidence, and curate both written and oral communication skills. Not to mention that Student Media tries to be competitive with off campus positions and students are compensated for their work.

“Student Media distributes information, provides forum for debate, and it’s all from the students’ perspective. We don’t censor or control anything that is published or put out there,” says Patrick Neal, director of student media. “The students have complete editorial control over their work, which gives Student Media a different dynamic than many other departments on campus.”

Agromeck is the oldest student publication on NC State’s campus, and WKNC 88.1 has a potential audience of 1.4 million listeners. Technician is approaching their 100-year anniversary, and Nubian Message is quickly approaching their 25-year anniversary of providing space for the experience of black students and the black community on campus. Meanwhile, Windhover just released Vol. 51 of the magazine with one of the biggest release parties yet.

From a yearbook to a radio station to a literary arts magazine to two newspapers, Student Media provides and allows space for the student voice to be heard. With an immense variety of platforms, a multitude of students have found their home at Student Media and continue to shape it for the next generation.