Celebrating a run of six decades and counting, KBVR-FM has been the heartbeat of Oregon State University’s student media, providing a platform for creativity, self-expression, and the discovery of new music. 

Since its inception on October 27, 1965, the station has grown from a small, club-run broadcast to a booming student-led media hub that continues to shape OSU’s cultural landscape.

Steven Sandberg, the current Assistant Director of Orange Media Network, enthusiastically looks at this current year of DJ’s as the largest group in his 10 years of holding this position. Scheduling 130 individual hours of unique voices, KBVR has grown far from its original schedule of 4 hours broadcasted weekly. 

Sandberg rejoices in the success of OSU’s campus radio for its 60 year span, saying “in a changing media environment, that’s not easy.”  Through the decades of changing fads in the music industry, radio is often talked about as a dying outlet. But through the proof of this campus milestone, KBVR-FM stands to be not only alive and well, but thriving.. 

KBVR Assistant Station Manager and Food Science & Technology major Clara Schmidt uses her weekly hour for a show called ‘The Cheese Scale’. As a national college radio winner for this podcast-style show, Schmidt shows how her passions for both her major and for this student-media outlet combine to create something that KBVR strives to encompass, a mission that Sandberg highlights as the ultimate goal – “giving students a platform to be their most authentic selves.” 

Being a part of the recent historical dive into KBVR’s history, Schmidt breaks down the campus celebrations this year to commemorate all of the voices that have shaped KBVR into what it is today. One project KBVR student-leaders are excited to present includes a series of interview shows with past DJ’s through the decades. 

Schmidt finds that it is important to connect OSU and the avid lovers of KBVR with the people that made the moves to evolve the artistry. A sentiment Sandberg shares greatly, saying “none of this is possible without the 1000’s of DJ’s that have come through the years.”

As a tool for education today, Schmidt attributes the creative outlet KBVR creates as an important aid for all kinds of students, stating “I’m here to do more than just what my major expects me to do.”  As a STEM major in a STEM-focussed school, Schmidt says that this medium can provide students with the same comfort experienced by herself – that one is more than just their major. 

Sandberg looks at participation in a creative medium like radio to be an academic lesson. KBVR provides how to make something for an audience, which as a DJ one needs to be mindful of as they curate the listeners experience. Sandberg urges the KBVR students to, “Think bigger… think, how does this affect the people that are listening to it?” 

The listener experience that Sandberg highlights is a big reason this college radio stays relevant today. “Don’t underestimate those driveway moments where somebody pulls in and doesn’t turn the radio off yet because they really like that song and want to listen to the rest of it.” Sandberg shows these to be the moments that keep the community attached to a local program like KBVR. 

This curation process designed by the individual student Schmidt explains as a, “Choose their own adventure” creative opportunity. The way KBVR balances its professional voice while still instilling the importance of student self-expression has been a long instilled process for DJs through every generation on the OSU campus.

While rules and regulations followed the early years of this broadcasting network, the voice of the student has always persisted and instituted change. When a list of banned music plagued early KBVR DJs, the eradication of that confinement wasn’t too far ahead, because as Sandberg says, students can use this kind of platform to “challenge views and uplift voices.” An increasingly important mission of student-led media today. 

As KBVR and all of its student leaders this year take a step back to appreciate the beginnings of this program – and the 60 year journey of creativity – Sandberg leaves one note for newcomers to this eye-opening medium. “If you haven’t ever tuned in, give us a listen, because you’re going to hear something you’ve never heard before…” 

This message has stayed true to the priority of KBVR as shown with it’s early rebellion to genre-specific regulations in the 60’s and 70’s, the move away from popularized waves of music brought on by MTV in the 80’s and 90’s – and the current day sound of individuality from every single DJ.