The Pavilion at Dobbs and Rollins dining halls are streaming KCOU for a trial period that will end at the close of semester.
Campus Dining Services decided to start playing KCOU at the request of the Residence Halls Association. A subsequent survey showed that students were in favor of the idea, CDS Marketing Manager Michael Wuest said.
At the end of the semester, CDS will evaluate through feedback and observations whether they will continue to stream KOCU in the dining halls.
KCOU has asked to be streamed in the dining halls before, but those efforts failed because of a weak signal, General Manager Matt Brown said.
KCOU changed towers in 2009 to get better signal and stream online as well. Brown said CDS prefers to play Top 40 music, which is different from the type of music KCOU plays. The station plays a wide variety, from classic rock to emerging artists.
“For me, it’s a no brainer,” Brown said. “If we have a student radio station at a school known for broadcast and journalism, it just makes sense to have that playing. If you need music, get it from the student station.”
Brown first heard CDS was playing KCOU through a tweet.
On April 11, MU campus dining tweeted, “You asked and we listened! @KCOU is now playing at Rollins and Pavilion at Dobbs during regular hours. #YourVoiceYourChange.”
Wuest said that throughout the trial run, CDS has received complaints from some students.
“From what I am seeing so far, students are not really enjoying it,” Wuest said.
He said KCOU’s format is different than what dining halls use to play. The dining halls used to play music appropriate for the time of day, but KCOU does not solely play music.
During the day, the station has a news segment and talk shows.
KCOU also runs scattered public announcements and has multiple student disc jockeys. Brown said this aspect of the station makes it unique.
“I think it is really cool to have students connecting to other students on that level,” Brown said. “You are able to hear other students.”
Sophomore Jordan Locke works at Plaza 900 and hosts a pop culture talk for KCOU show at 11 p.m. every Saturday.
“As a worker, I would like to listen to what I want,” Locke said. “Good music makes the shift go by faster.”
Brown said it is hard to reach everyone in a large school and being streamed in the dining halls gives the station more exposure.