The legacy of Anti-watt seemed intimidating at first, and still is to a degree. For those who don’t know, Anti-watt once was a pirate radio station for the campus of Antioch College. One that actually played on the air waves at least. The idea of running a radio station at all is scary, especially if you are the host, knowing that there is an untold number of people listening to your voice. Despite my anxieties, I feel like I have pushed through many of the challenges I’ve faced on this co-op.
To put my current position into context I shall share the problems I’ve faced thus far. First of all, Anti-watt hadn’t been active in over a year since I began this co-op. There were no other students around that had been working on it that could help me or give me guidance. Luckily Michael Casselli, who is a professor at Antioch was able to assist me as a mentor, helping me to start running the stream from my computer. But after that I have pretty much been running Anti-watt independently.
This lack of of structure did not disrupt my process as much as I initially thought it would. In fact is has been somewhat pleasant to have this creative control over my work and working environment. The people who ran Anti-watt before myself had left some documents to guide me in ways, but they made most clear that Anti-watt can be whatever the students want it to be. The creative freedom is what makes this position so special, and I feel that it has only fueled my passion for expanding Anti-watt. I feel proud of the progress I’ve made so far.
For example, I feel as if I’ve done a good job in rebranding Anti-watt. I commissioned a local artist and fellow student Estella Martin for the logo you see as the cover photo for this article. 
(A sketch during brainstorm session for the logo)
I send most information out through instagram (@antiwatt) as I can reach a lot of the student body and alumni through there. I have established a consistent streaming schedule, Mondays, Wednesday, and Friday 6-8 PM Est. I’ve played a variety of music, giving exposure to many underground artist and introducing people to new genres.
For example, a few of my friends who have been listening to the stream have started to really enjoy reggae from listening to Anti-watt. I have held an interview with a current student Rose Compton, and alum Lola Roxanne about their film making processes, inspirations, and creative influences. I plan on holding more interviews with more people on campus.
Considering I’m the only actual worker for Anti-watt at this point, I’d say I’ve made a decent amount of progress. Although I’ve had some help through my community and peers. Ben Treynor, a fellow student has helped comprise a lot of playlist for streaming so that I’ve got more content. A few others have also contributed in that regard. Early on into the process I was having a lot of self doubt when it came to running the show, many of my fellow students reached out to reaffirm me. That gave me the confidence to push through and keep trying. It makes me incredibly joyful to be
QR code that will take you to ant-watt.org so that you can tune in!
apart of something that is cherished by my community.
I wish to continue expanding Anti-watt after this co-op experience. Whether that be as a student employee, or just voluntarily dedicating myself to it. I hope that more students become invested in expanding Anti-watt, just as I am. I highly recommend this position to any media arts students who are looking for a co-op in the future. I will definitely still be available to help. Remember, Anti-watt is whatever you want it to be, so make it something great.
