Month: May 2021

College radio perseveres, adapts to COVID-19 challenges

KZLX’s Nerdmageddon and the owner of a bar named The Pub. From left to right are The Pub’s owner, Jeff Zeller, and then the Nerdmageddon crew: Molly Hauser, Simon Clark, Corie Herzog, and Mckenzie Duval.

It’s not ‘the end of the world’

By Mason Bigler
Special to CMR

Borrowing from Matchbox 20, going to spring break in 2020 was like “waking up at the start of the end of the world” for college radio. Luckily, the world’s not over just yet.

Because of COVID-19, some college stations were abandoned for the spring semester, only on air because of automated systems. Others had to fight for their right to keep student DJs through strict rules and sanitation. As outlined below, some of those rules are still in place, while at other universities, precautions are being relaxed and the radio stations are returning closer to normal. Continue reading “College radio perseveres, adapts to COVID-19 challenges”

Collegiate photographer: ‘Chase your passions and what you love to do’

Elias Valverde II
Elias Valverde II

Like so many college students, Elias Valverde II started his college career pursuing a degree in architecture. Then he changed to political science. Then he switched to art with a concentration in photography. It’s clear he found his passion.

He took a photography class at Tarrant County College.

As he tells it, “The class was centered around a weeklong trip to Cuba where we spent our time walking the streets of Old Havana, mainly doing street photography.  However, we often stopped and talked with the local people, asking questions and getting to know them. We found out quickly that the Cuban people were just as curious as were, asking where we were from and why we were visiting. The experience was something I’ll never forget because it was almost like traveling back in time to a place before cellphones and Wi-Fi and that environment really made you live in the moment without distractions.”

But it was also where he discovered what turned into his passion. Continue reading “Collegiate photographer: ‘Chase your passions and what you love to do’”