Radio listenership across the country has declined significantly over the years due to the rise of new platforms for content consumption and competition from streaming services. But on Washington and Lee’s campus, radio continues to thrive.
The university’s radio station, WLUR 91.5, was ranked as the third most popular college radio station in the nation, according to The Princeton Review’s 2026 list of “Best College Radio Stations.”
The station was started in 1967. As FM has expanded, so has the station, which has become a staple component of the community, said Station Manager Steve Cross.
WLUR is one of only four radio stations in Rockbridge County and can be streamed worldwide. At any point in time during the day, there are estimated to be around 1,000 to 2,000 people listening to WLUR.
Cross has served as the station manager since 2022. He has contributed to various changes at the station over the past three years, including the installation of a new automation system and increased studio space, which have expanded opportunities for students and increased the station’s popularity.
There are now over 100 students on the air any given week, Cross said.
Cross says he believes the station is so popular because it is so accessible to students. No experience is required to host and a short demonstration from Cross is the only prerequisite to conducting your first show.
Since Cross joined the station, three additional recording studios have been added to its home in Elrod Commons, where it moved permanently in 2006 after previously residing in Reid Hall and then Gaines. Throughout a typical school day, students host a variety of shows, from sports podcasts to simply playing their favorite songs.
There are nearly no guidelines dictating what students can play on the air, despite standard FCC limitations on profanity and explicit content. They have complete creative control over what they want to curate. Cross says that’s what makes the station unique.
“There’s a lot of college radio stations where a playlist is enforced or at least there are guidelines of things that you’re supposed to play,” Cross said. “At this station, the students have a full say in what they do, from the second they step into that studio until the end of their show.”
Students say the station provides them with a platform and the freedom to express whatever they want. By having a radio show, students also gain skills that train them for other professions.
Julie Charles, ’27, has been a DJ at WLUR for two semesters and has learned to navigate the nuances of a live radio show, she said.
“I’ve had to improvise if I mess up, and it’s a lot of trying to make it feel personal, like the person is a friend of mine, and I’m talking to them like it’s a conversation,” Charles said.
Last semester’s program director, Carmen Bunker, ’27, got involved with WLUR through one of her journalism classes.
Bunker said that her show, and others, serve as a way to express themselves through music.
“In a radio station, you’re not really face-to-face with someone. You’re just talking to a microphone, so a lot of people feel more at ease,” Bunker said. “It’s also a way for people, especially those who live far away from home, for their parents to listen to them chat for an hour.”
The station is not only used for WLUR operations, but for any recording purposes, including recording original songs and podcasts.
In the future, Cross hopes to expand the station and upgrade the individual studios to give it a professional look that matches its newfound national reputation, he said.
