School Desk

Underground Radio thrives at Lehman

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In the basement floor of the Student Life Building at Lehman College lives Underground Radio, the school’s student-run radio station.

“The station is completely student-run, from managers all the way down to radio personalities. Our audio technical guys, all students. Producers, DJs, personalities — all students,” explained Poche Wilson, the station’s general manager.

“I stumbled upon the radio station in my freshman year,” explained Mr. Wilson, who is currently in his second year at Lehman. “I came here just with this passion for music, I came to college as a DJ… I hear there’s this radio station around and so I come by and I see all this great audio gear everywhere and these huge boards, stereo equipment, all these things I’d like to mess with, so I made it a priority my first year to become a part of this.”

After submitting an application and making it through the interview process, he accomplished his goal. On top of being the general manager, Mr. Wilson is a DJ, a music producer and an on-air radio personality. 

Erick Jhon Peguero, also a sophomore at Lehman, said he immediately sought out the radio station when he arrived on campus. He, too, had to go through a fairly rigorous vetting process to become a staff member. 

“I’m a biology major, and I’m in the radio station most of the time when I’m not in class. So we have to make sure you have a passion for music. This is not a hang out spot; this is a legit thing we want to do,” he said.

Lore about Underground Radio is spotty, but Mr. Peguero and Mr. Wilson say their beloved network began in the late 1980s or ‘90s and eventually went off the air for unknown reasons. Back in 2013, a group of students brought the station back to life, making broadcasts exclusively for web.

The staff picks the music and curates it based on time of day — a listener who tunes it at 2 a.m., for example, will hear smoother, slower songs than during the middle of the day.

Isabel Angell, Lehman College, Underground Radio
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