The air is getting colder and the leaves are changing colors— fall is in full force at Furman. Among the organized chaos of classes, tests, papers and CLP’s, students are also involved in numerous extracurricular activities.
The upstairs of the Trone Student Center, in room 205, houses three of these organizations: FTV, WPLS radio and Bonhomie, the yearbook.
FTV is a combination of what used to be WFTV and the Murrow Society, which were two Furman based television networks. WFTV was committed to providing Saturday Night Live-inspired news parodies, while the Murrow Society produced academic shows.
This year’s executive producer, sophomore Communication Studies major Luke Christie, hopes to use his love for broadcast communication to revamp the TV network.
“This is my opportunity to take my love for news media in general, and put it into practice at Furman,” Christie said.
He is the go-to guy for FTV, handling day-to-day administrative details as well as personal relations until a PR and Marketing Director can be found.
Christie, working with executive director Alexie Alvarado, has two shows slated for the 2012-2013 calendar. One, a discussion news show done in a similar style to the View (but a more serious version, Luke insists). In addition, a short morning show that is similar to SNL’s “Weekend Update” is slated; this will focus on campus, local and national news satirically.
FTV is not the only campus communications organization that is getting revamped. Furman’s campus radio station, Why People Love Sound (WPLS), is undergoing almost as much construction as the Trone Center. WPLS is in a new location, with a glass encased broadcasting room, which sophomore History and Political Science double major Sean Butler says he hopes will add a new level of transparency and accessibility to the station.
Butler became involved as a freshman and is now the Student Manager, and along with Blake Yoder, hosts a conversational music program called “The Unusual Suspects.” Now, as Student Manager, Butler is also overseeing the transition from the old space to the new, setting production schedules, training DJ’s and coordinating with advisor, Dr. Bryan Bibb.
“My goal for this year is to pack the airways. Several different shows, seven days a week,” Butler said.
WPLS seems on its way to this goal, with the online stream playing music 24/7. That’s right, the online stream. Furman’s radio station is joining the online media revolution by switching their programming to solely online streaming and by joining the worldwide Twitter phenomenon (@WPLSFU).
However, while FTV and WPLS are jumping headfirst into technology, Bonhomie is still going to be a classic hardback yearbook. Matt Kearns, the Editor-in-Chief of Bonhomie, is excited for this year’s no-theme, clean-cut yearbook.
“The best part is seeing it [Bonhomie] in its final, published form. The worst is having nearly a non-existent staff,” he said.
Kearns, a junior Philosophy major, joined Bonhomie last year, as Co-Editor-in-Chief with now retired Katie Core. Kearns wants everyone on campus to know that Bonhomie is free, and handed out on the last day of class in front of the library.
Christie, Butler, and Kearns are passionate about their organizations, and want the student body to know that they’re here and excited to become an integral part of Furman’s campus.
