October 28, 2016
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The Drexel Dragon on Drexel University's campus in Philadelphia.
A Philadelphia college radio station has earned top honor in a recent list that ranks the top 10 in the nation.
Drexel Unversity's WKDU 91.7 snagged the No. 1 spot on the list compiled by Value Colleges, a research website that put together rankings of colleges and degree programs, according to its website.
The website said the Philly station took the spot for its variety of music and ability to keep on top of the city's rapidly growing music scene.
"WKDU, 91.7, Drexel University, not only plays a variety of amazing tunes but they manage to keep up with the entire music scene in Philadelphia, which is no small task, Their website keeps a running list of who is playing where and how old you have to be to get in, a pressing concern for your average college student. WKDU may take a little getting used to if you are a new listener since the genre switches hour by hour. But soon you’ll learn to love the funk one hour and punk the next or to only tune in during certain parts of the day."
It's not the only achievement for the station. WKDU has been the recipient of the College Music Journal's "Station of the Year" 2011 and its "Biggest Champion of the Local Scene."
The station has also been praised as the "Best Local Jamaican Radio Station" from Best of Jamaica in Philadelphia six times between 2003 and 2009.
“My college experience is dramatically better because of this place — purely because of this — and I would love to introduce [other people] to the same positivity and community that I have come to love so deeply,” the station's general manager, Swan Beaupre, told The Triangle, Drexel's student newspaper. “Who knows where my life will go, but I doubt that I’ll find something else like this in my future.”
Here's the top 10 list:
1. Drexel University
2. Seton Hall University
3. Appalachian State University
4. DePauw University
5. North Carolina State University
6. University of Tennessee, Knoxville
7. University of California, Berkeley
8. Texas State University
9. Howard University
10. University of Washington
