WRUC

WRUC-FM is an independent college radio station owned and operated by Union College in Schenectady, New York. The station is licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to operate on the frequency 89.7 Mhz at an effective radiated power of 100 watts. The station also streams its content on Internet radio at wruc.union.edu. The station has long claimed to be the first station in the nation, a distinction that has been challenged by other stations.

WRUC is run entirely by the students of Union College. The station offers an eclectic mix of alternative programming, Union sports and news to listeners within a 15-mile radius.

The station's offices and studios are located in the Reamer Campus Center on the Union College campus.

History

WRUC became the first student operated radio facility in the United States when it began broadcasting on October 14, 1920. The station is widely recognized as America's first college radio station. The New York Times noted in its April 25, 1921 edition that a broadcast by the Union College radio club could be heard 1,000 miles away. The paper also detailed one month later an experiment in which a baby being pushed in a carriage through Schenectady was able to receive a radio broadcast.