I am writing in response to Tom Cooke's column ("Campus radio station should diversify its daytime music rotation" SN 7/19). Personally, the reason I tune into WDBM (88.9-FM) is to experience the great variety of new bands, non-mainstream music and local bands that I would otherwise never hear.

The reason hip-hop is only played during the Cultural Vibe show is that although hip-hop is a worthwhile genre of music, as are jazz, blues and the many other categories, it already has radio stations dedicated solely to it.

Of course the Impact recognizes that hip-hop is "an increasing source of artistic creativity," as Cooke puts it, which is precisely the reason they created Cultural Vibe in the first place.

This is the same reason they currently have 10 other shows dedicated to different types of tunes to give various genres a chance to be heard. If the four-hour show is not enough and you want to listen to more hip-hop, or blues or jazz for that matter, tune into another station for awhile.

This is one of the few stations nationwide that unique artists such as Ryan Adams, Elliott Smith and The Shins get any air time at all. Also, the bands that you rated with a "didn't suck" were all fairly mainstream bands.

You might not like lesser-known artists, completely your prerogative, but leave the Impact as it is for the people who can appreciate its bold efforts in distributing a variety of music to people who want to listen to something different.

Carrie Langkabel
2005 graduate