Fred Schaaf '02, then KPSU's music director, in the studio in 1994 (Photo courtesy of the Oregonian).
WHAT DO Smarmy Elfin Magic, Muy Bien Racing Hour and Groove Swing have in common? They were all shows that aired in 1994 when KPSU embarked on what’s been a 28-year journey in radio, music and self-expression.
For those who haven’t visited the sub-basement of Smith Memorial Student Union or streamed one of the 50 plus shows available online, a quick introduction: KPSU is Portland State’s student-run station. It started as the dream of a group of students who wanted to bring college radio to Portland. In the early ’90s, they drummed up interest and secured funding to hire graduate student Don Nasca MBA ’95 to get things off the ground.
When KPSU launched, it shared airwaves with Portland Public Schools (PPS) thanks to an arrangement worked out by Nasca. Benson High School’s station, 1450 AM KBPS, was in financial trouble after Measure 5 budget cuts, and KPSU organizers discovered that not only were there no radio frequencies available, but also purchasing an existing channel came at a high cost—at least $1 million. Convincing PSU’s administration to go through with the deal wasn’t easy. Volunteers gathered over a 1,000 signatures, and hundreds of students (lured with free pizza) crowded into a student fee committee hearing. But in the end, Portland State bought 49 hours of airtime a week from PPS and began broadcasting daily between 5 p.m. and midnight.
“It was probably the most inspiring thing of my whole life,” Nasca said in a 2016 podcast about the organizing that led to the radio station’s launch. “That was a pivotal time in my life where I got to really see people get energized.”
(Photo by So-Min Kang)The result was a flow of alternative and experimental music, conversation hours, interviews with people around campus, themed playlists, nature walks, reviews of movies and in-depth dives into television shows—anything to get away from what students considered “programmed music.”
Early on, the station lived in what Vicky Mazzone ’02 described as a tiny closet on the second floor of the student union. KPSU has since relocated to the sub-basement and slowly reformed a computer lab into the lounge and studio space it is today. Mazzone hosts Guitar Shop, the second-longest running show on KPSU with 24 years on air.
In 2010, the contract with KBPS ended suddenly. One of the late-night shows used “offending language” (the word “sodomy”) and while not technically a violation of Federal Communications Commission guidelines, Portland Public Schools revoked the station’s broadcasting privileges the next day. KPSU hasn’t returned to traditional airwaves since, instead streaming exclusively online at kpsu.org. In its new form, the station continues to be an outlet for students as one of Portland State’s largest student organizations.
“It’s one of the freest spaces on campus in terms of expression because we literally let you do whatever you want,” said Anna Ross, KPSU’s most recent volunteer director. “There’s an astounding mystery to it.”
A treasure trove of KPSU tapes, t-shirts, zines and other memorabilia from the early years now has a home in the library’s Special Collections.