A best-selling college campus guide ranks St. Bonaventure’s radio station as the nation’s best

By Tony Lee, editor in chief, @sHecKii

ST. BONAVENTURE (Aug. 6) — Shannon Shepherd bragged to her high school classmates she got accepted to the nation’s No. 1 college radio station.

If anyone thought she exaggerated, she could have picked up the 2007 Princeton Review’s “The Best 376 Colleges” and opened to the extracurricular rankings section to prove it.

Shepherd, now a senior, has seen the rankings drop to No. 2 in 2008 and 2009 and to No. 4 in 2010 in each of her three years being one of WSBU-FM 88.3 The Buzz’s board of directors.

In 2011, the journalism and mass communication major can again make the same statement she made in high school. According to Princeton Review’s 2011 rankings, St. Bonaventure University has become the nation’s No. 1 college radio station again.

“It is always in the back of your mind to rebuild the dynasty that came before us,” said Shepherd, WSBU’s sports director. “We had a very challenging year last year with different technical problems, but the board of directors, led by (senior) Kyle (Zappia), pulled together to make the station a gem again.”

Lee Coppola, dean of the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said prospective students often tell him they visited St. Bonaventure because of WSBU’s reputation.  

Coppola added this ranking shines a spotlight on the hard-working WSBU staffers, who he said may be some of the most dedicated students he knows.

“Not only is their on-air work excellent, it’s what they do in recruiting, marketing and activities that benefit the community that impresses me the most,” he said.

WSBU staffers have impressed themselves, too. 

“I know I couldn’t be happier,” said Levi Trimble, WSBU’s public relations director. “We are proud to call ourselves the best.”

The senior journalism and mass communication major added this was a team effort — a view programming director Jess Rehac echoed. 

“There are so many people who put their time and energy into making sure that WSBU is running smoothly every day,” said Rehac, a junior education major, “and being able to watch all of those people celebrate the fact that their hard work put us in the No. 1 spot in the country is really amazing.”

The Princeton Review ranking are based on an 80-question survey sent to more than 122,000 students nationwide covering topics such as social life, fellow students, campus and community, according to sbu.edu.

WSBU, founded in 1948, broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It can be streamed online at http://www.wsbufm.net or on 88.7 88.3 FM.

“We were honored by being nominated and making the top 10 in the MTVu Woodie Awards (click here to read about it), but this recognition from the Princeton Review is truly the icing and the cherry on the cake,” Shepherd said. 

tony.lee@theintrepid.org

Correction (Aug. 8): Twitter user its_me_spence notified The Intrepid of typing WSBU broadcasts on 88.3, not 88.7, FM.

Correction (Aug. 10): Levi Trimble’s last name is Trimble, not Tremble