WTUR serves as Taylor University's student-led radio station, featuring a diverse array of radio shows and podcasts. These range from discussions on conspiracy theories and fictional narratives to advocacy programs addressing mental health concerns.
WTUR stands out for its inclusive approach, allowing any student to initiate their own show and share nearly any story or narrative they desire.
Senior Jared Shafer seized this opportunity by launching his radio show, “Testify,” airing on WTUR every Thursday at 8 p.m. throughout the spring semester.
“Testify” is a one-hour show where guests share how God has moved in their lives. Shafer coined the “shout out God” segment, where he reads prayer requests and praises that the audience submits throughout the week.
“I felt like it was something that could be really valuable for the community because, even though we are on a Christian campus, we tend to get distracted by the things that are happening,” Shafer said. “So it's always nice to take a pause and reflect to see how God's been moving in the students and the body as well.”
For students who love stories, there is another radio show on Fridays at 6 p.m. that focuses on one narrative called, “The Next Chapter.” Freshman Ella Burch writes a chapter of her dark fantasy novel during the week and reads it during her 30-minute show on Friday night.
As a freshman, Burch was looking for creative outlets on campus and found WTUR, now her favorite place to be.
“It's so nice, having 30 minutes in the day when people are just forced to listen to what you have to say, and I think the studio is my favorite place on campus,” Burch said “I go there and no one bothers me and it's like, I can do what really makes me happy.”
So, on Thursdays, students can hear stories of how their peers have encountered God and on Fridays, they can listen to a story being written. Before either of those, every other Wednesday at 7 p.m., they can hear stories and advice about how to navigate mental health through, “Finding PAX Within.”
PAX (meaning peace in Latin) is a mental health advocacy club at Taylor, and this is the second semester of the radio show. The show is hosted by Emily Mitchell, the senior in charge of PAX’s social media strategy and Kylie Roggie, a sophomore and the vice president of the organization.
The two of them discuss multiple mental health topics and the ebbs and flows of life as a college student during the show.
They try to have guest speakers – ranging from other PAX cabinet members to mental health experts – to discuss topics in-depth.
“I think the main hope for people to get out of it is just to feel like they're not alone,” Roggie said.
Roggie said the PAX cabinet recognizes they are not able to offer the same resources as Taylor’s Counseling Center. This led to Roggie and Mitchell drawing from their personal experiences during the show.
Through these stories, the duo hopes to help students realize they are not isolated in what they are going through.
“It takes away that sense of isolation where people might be just going through it themselves and now they can listen to the radio show and recognize that they're not alone and that there are people who experience similar or the same things and that we offer advice as well from our personal experiences,” Roggie said.
To listen to any of these shows or any other WTUR show all one needs to do is download the RadioFX app.
