The other day, I walked into Grill 155 to eat dinner with my friend, only to hear rap music blasting through the speakers at a volume unheard of at an eatery. I immediately wanted to turn and run. Not only did I have to yell my order to the cashier, but I could barely hold a conversation with my friend sitting right across the table, or hear myself think.

I have nothing against the type of music that was playing, but the fact that it was blasting at an unnecessary volume, making the music sound distorted and awful, was almost too much to bear while I was trying to eat dinner.

The question I have is who controls the music at the dining facilities on campus? Is it Sodexo? Student Activities? Facilities Department? Why aren’t we using the resources available on campus to play music the students want to hear while they are eating?

WNHU, the University of New Haven’s radio station, would be a great place to start.

WNHU has a student only online stream called Charger Radio, which is all students, all the time. This stream should be what is playing through the speakers at the dining facilities.

Charger Radio is what students want to hear. And if you don’t like what you hear, students have the ability to join the station, become a DJ on Charger Radio and then YOU play what you and your friends want to hear.

If you are in doubt about putting WNHU/Charger Radio in the dining facilities, just take a look—or rather, take a listen—at the Rec Center. Over the summer, WNHU started a stream customized for the Rec Center and that is what you now hear playing over the speakers while you work out. The Rec Center utilized a resource straight from UNH, right on campus, which helps both parties in countless ways. So, I believe the dining facilities should do the same.

Whether it be the radio station putting juke boxes in Bartels so students can choose what song they want to hear, Grill 155 and Pandini’s streaming Charger Radio through their speakers so students can listen to their peers DJ their own shows, or a customized WNHU stream playing in Sandella’s and the C-Store; the options are limitless!

WNHU is a great resource that should not be overlooked, especially when it comes to what is playing over the speakers at the many different dining facilities on campus.