One of the new stalls at the Student Interest Group fair this year was Howler Radio, formerly known as Jackal Radio. Jackal Radio was founded last year by two NYUAD students, Krishan Mistry and Dean Shaff, both of whom graduated as part of the Class of 2016. Since then, it has been growing to accommodate around 10 shows a week. This year, sophomore Reine DeFranco and senior Sebastián Rojas have taken over the leadership, working over the summer to rebrand and improve the radio station.

The name was confusing for many students who were unsure whether Howler Radio was the same as Jackal Radio, but with a different name, or a new organization entirely.

“The name and logo were meant to be temporary last year, as the focus was more so on getting software and servers up and running and having a radio room,” explained DeFranco. “Before graduating, [the seniors] requested that we take what they built and redesign it so [that] it has a new, clean look.”

As to why Howler, she continued, “Howler Radio is also a reference to a radio DJ named Wolfman Jack that howled during his shows, and we decided that Howler was a clearer reference to broadcasting.”

Although the seniors dominated most of the shows last year, many freshmen showed interest in contributing to the station at the fair this year, with around 30 students at the interest meeting this week. The leadership hopes to see more diversity in terms of shows in the upcoming year, and more commitment in the effort to “create a new media for communication on campus, much like what The Gazelle has accomplished.”

Faculty member Bryan Waterman has been a supporter of the organization since it began, hosting a weekly show called Research Paper Radio, which now airs every Sunday night from 10 p.m. until midnight. He describes the program as “a free-form show, so it [can] change from week to week.”

“There’s usually a theme for the evening, a constraint, [that] I use to organize the show,” said Waterman.

For one of the shows, Waterman searched for all songs that began with the word all on his old iPod; he proceeded to do a show based on “what kind of sense emerges from them [when placed together].”

The shows on Howler Radio have a diversity that aims to reflect the NYUAD community, and the organization hopes to be an outlet which students can tune into while they’re working or just hanging out as a source of music, entertainment and a way to communicate with the community. Waterman also mentioned the possibility of creating an archive of shows so that students who are busy can listen in their free time.