In one corner of the University Center game room on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus, you’ll find the Perch—a student-run radio station streamed online.
Haley Solomon, the faculty adviser of the Perch, with the help of students—including Station Manager Fay Aregai—has rebranded and rebuilt the UTC student radio station after COVID-19 pressed the pause button for this student organization in March 2020.
“When I first was hired as faculty adviser, the Perch was essentially a non-functioning entity,” Ms.
Solomon said. “The programming was being taken care of by the station manager for WUTC. Music was playing but that’s about it. We did not have a functioning studio. We did not have a student body. We did not have student staff. We did not have a brand, logo, graphics or website.
“We needed to completely start over.”
This fall, the Perch has returned with nine staff members and 20 hosts.
“They created a new brand and identity for the Perch,” Ms. Solomon said. “They have a really fun, funky logo, and the website is really cute and bright and colorful.
“They created a visual identity that is eye-catching and interesting and thought-provoking but in a more complex way.”