Waltzing into the sticker-bombed checkerboard abyss of the WBNY studio, you’ll find what could be thought of as an oasis on campus. In the corner, a persuasive set of big blue couches that would consume you if you got too comfortable, and the faint sound of music echoing throughout the vibrant room.

Salvatore Constantin manned his post in the corner, AirPods in, immersed in music with a notebook sprawled on the table in front of him. In came running Kevin Thompson with a three-legged pair of jeans. He’s working on a short film, or so he says.

Constantin and Thompson are juniors at Buffalo State University; the pair serves as the campus radio station’s co-general managers, a position that allows them to follow their dreams.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I would play music on my little MP3 player and pretend like I was talking on the radio,” Thompson said. “I would make cassette tapes and have my microphone to record and make my own radio shows.”

The spark for being on the radio stuck with Thompson throughout all of these years, and upon joining WBNY, he was finally able to ignite it.

Constantin found his way to WBNY in a very unique way. While a senior in high school, his band, Prairie Pavement, performed live on the station as part of “The Local Show,” a segment where bands perform live right inside the WBNY studio.

“I kind of always knew about the station, and I knew a couple of people from doing that,” Constantin said. “When I was a freshman, I walked in and I was just like, ‘hey guys, remember me?’ ”

Upon entering the studio, the two disc jockeys undergo a slight persona change. Thompson turns into DJ Dentist while on the air, a dentist’s best friend. He plays tunes while chatting about brushing and flossing throughout the show. Constantin, on the other hand, goes by the alias Dale Wisconsin. He explains the show on Instagram, saying, “harassing your radio,” which sounds intriguing and scary at the same time.

“There was a rap song called ‘Ain’t It Funny’ by Danny Brown, and I had a dream one night three years ago that all the lyrics were replaced with lyrics about brushing your teeth,” Thompson said. “The alliteration got me. I love alliteration, so I said this is going to be DJ Dentist.”

Although the duo doesn’t have a show together, they pop in on each other and are big fans of one another’s work on the airwaves. Constantin admittedly was a huge DJ Dentist fan before meeting Thompson. Passing by each other around campus only lasted so long as the duo became great friends through WBNY.

While having a blast on air every week is a standard for WBNY, there are tasks within the club where things can become challenging. Almost weekly live shows, Battle of the Bands, and other events don’t just happen overnight.

“It was more just like trying to get bands to come,” Constantin said. “We checked the email, and there were like two.”

Whether it’s booking bands to perform or getting a new show on the air, Constantin and Thompson take moments like these as learning experiences. It helps them grow not only their skills directly attached to the radio station, but also in other aspects of life, too.

Thompson finds training people at WBNY to be most rewarding. The equipment has a lot of bells and whistles, which can be intimidating to some.

“I almost became a teacher here at Buff State before I went into film,” Thompson said. “I love training people and getting to see them grow.”

Through the co-general manager role, the duo picks up an abundance of leadership skills. How to get people together, scheduling meetings and getting everything situated for events. Their inventory of skills can be applied almost anywhere, not just on the radio.

“As people and through leadership, they’ve grown,” said Sol Verma, WBNY secretary. “They listen to feedback and have a passion for WBNY to succeed.”

Verma works closely with Constantin and Thompson, having met them a couple of years ago through the station.

As a local music connoisseur, Verma’s passion directly helps Constantin when finding local bands for events like “The Local Show” and more.

“Previous general managers were more on the sports side,” Verma said. “It’s nice to have people back on the music side.”

The group inspires and motivates one another constantly. One of the reasons that “The Dale Wisconsin Show” even exists is because of DJ Dentist. Constantin would sit outside the control room, captivated. He explains the power of radio shows as “dropping the listener into a different world.”

While WBNY may not be the biggest radio station, it’s our radio station. Upon tuning in, you may discover that the quiet kid in your 8 a.m. lecture is a comedy genius or that heavy metal can be played on the cello.

“When people listen to WBNY, they want to listen to something they’ve never heard before,” Thompson said. “They love hearing the students mess up, they love when we are nervous during our first show and don’t know what to say.”

WBNY embodies wackiness and uniqueness, and even if sometimes talking into a microphone alone in the booth feels like talking into the void, people are listening.

“You’ll get people calling you and people texting you like ‘I was listening to that, that was awesome,’ ” Thompson said. “It’s crazy how many people still tune in.”

According to Pew Research, in 2022, 82% of Americans ages 12 and older listened to traditional radio in a given week. Despite rumblings that radio is dying, there are people listening.

While only being here at Buffalo State for four years, Constantin and Thompson’s WBNY experience will last a lifetime. The two agree that the connections they’ve made and the opportunity to be creative are some of the most valuable things they will take with them, and as Constantin puts it, “ it’s the drive to just make things.”