Women in Broadcasting is a newly formed group that hopes to give women a supportive niche at the predominantly male College radio stations.
Of the 100 students working at WDCR and WFRD, 30 are women. There is only one woman DJ on the FM station, 99 Rock, and a few in middle management.
Amy Ertel '94, General Manager and founder of the Women in Broadcasting group, is the only woman on the 1993-1994 directorate. The directorate consists of nine members.
Ertel said the group's purpose is not merely to recruit women to the station as DJs, but also to bring together women who have an interest in breaking into music, news, and TV journalism.
"The aim is to increase the number of women in broadcasting," Ertel said, "and let them know there are roles for them in broadcasting."
According to Ertel, many of the women who are working at the station are behind the scenes, working in news, rather than in the high profile positions as DJs.
Ertel, who began her work in radio when she was a freshman and is looking towards a career in educational television or radio, said she has seen an increase in the number of women interested in broadcasting.
Still, Ertel said, it can be hard for some women to feel comfortable because of the male to female ratio.
"It can be intimidating when you're in a room of men and they're swapping the bull," Ertel said. "You can be absorbed into the walls or you have to be able to dish it out."
One goal of the broadcasting group is to implement a formalized mentor system to increase the number of women in leadership roles at the radio stations, she said.
The group will also sponsor events, bringing speakers from the world of broadcasting to Dartmouth in an effort to show students, and particularly women, the kinds of opportunities that exist in broadcast journalism, Ertel said.
Sabrina Serrantino '95, a producer for Dartmouth Nightly News became involved with the station this past fall. She said throughout her training period all of her interaction was with men and she was not aware there were women at the station.
"The women who come in are pretty gutsy to begin with," Serrantino said.
Serrantino said another purpose of Women in Broadcasting is to increase the visibility of broadcasting opportunities as an obtainable goal for women.
The group's presence will hopefully improve the station, she said, citing the need for more female involvement in middle and upper management in order to effectively represent the Dartmouth community.
According to Phil Augur '95, General Manager for the up-coming year, getting women involved with broadcasting at the college level provides a "stepping stone" to getting women into the industry.
"One of the things I'd like to see the Women in Broadcasting group do is to get women to break into FM. We don't have women exposed to that larger market," Augur said.
Andrew Kersey '94, the programming director at WDCR and WFRD since his sophomore year, said it is a positive step for station leaders to finally tackle the issue of "gender disparity," and create a support group for women within the station.
"Don't get me wrong, there is no discrimination here," Kersey said, adding that the problem is more likely related to the difficulty of women finding a niche at the station.
Stacey Thibodeau '95, a DJ on WDCR said she has always wanted to be on the radio because people listen.
Thibodeau, who earned her license this past summer, said journalism and broadcasting are typically male dominated professions, giving examples from her hometown radio stations, which have only a few female DJs in undesirable time slots.
She said she has experienced criticism for her alternative musical taste as being distinctly "female," from males not only in the community, but at the station as well.
"Sometimes I get criticized for my musical tastes," Thibodeau said, adding it is sometimes delivered in the form of jokes from male DJs, but she feels there is a hint of truth in their wisecracks.
"I feel more paranoid when a male jock walks into the music library," she said.
