Tucked away above the Wildcard office on the second floor of Dougherty lies the music mecca of Villanova; WXVU. Perhaps you’ve heard of it, perhaps you haven’t, but once you actually hear it, you’ll know it’s something worth listening to.

WXVU is a student-run and student-operated radio station that’s existed in various forms for nearly 60 years.

What sets WXVU apart from most other stations is that it is free-form, meaning that students can play essentially whatever they like.

“WXVU is excellent because radio is a unique medium that has the ability to share independent and creative thoughts and ideas,” senior DJ Neil Logrando said. “It gives the student body an additional plane by which they can demonstrate variety and diversity to each other as well as to the surrounding public communities.”

With an eight-mile broadcasting radius, the surrounding area receives WXVU on 89.1 FM loud and clear.

The station shares its frequency with nearby Cabrini College and broadcasts live on FM on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sunday mornings. WXVU always broadcasts worldwide from the station’s website, wxvu.villanova.edu. The Web site also displays a schedule of the shows.

Villanova’s radio station has a rich history. Born as an AM station, Villanova began broadcasting in 1947 as WKVU and evolved several times before becoming WXVU in 1991.

In between these times, several people who would go on to gain fame graced the airwaves, the two most famous being Jim Croce (singer/songwriter of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”) and Don McLean (singer/songwriter of “American Pie”).

Villanova’s radio station even broke world records. In 1975, DJ “Ego” Ed Gallagher broke the previous radio-thon record by broadcasting for 104 consecutive hours to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (during which time, a 9′ aluminum banana was stolen off the top of a local radio personality’s car and was later found in Corr Hall.)

WXVU has recently been renovated internally and externally, with a new appearance and new technology.

Listeners can request songs online, and a new news segment has also been added to student programming.

Within the sticker-laden walls of WXVU, there’s more than just a station: there’s a home.

“It’s been one of the few places on campus in my four years where I felt at home and at peace,” senior David Heayn said. “It was a great expression for me and a way to learn about life and the world.”

Interested in having your own radio show? E-mail WXVU’s traffic director at [email protected] for more information.