A tan, weathered couch sits beneath a collage of stickers and posters that covers just about every flat surface in the room. A huge poster of Neil Young hangs beside posters of bands and musicians from around the world.

Music, often interrupted by a melodic voice, is heard coming from a room down the hall, flowing and filling the station of WKNC Radio. Room 343 of the Witherspoon Student Center is the home of N.C. State’s own student-run radio station, WKNC 88.1 FM, The Revolution.

Recalling his first experience as a disk jockey, Steven Salevan, a junior in computer engineering, said he was extremely nervous talking on the air.

“It was a visceral and scary kind of moment,” Salevan said.

Salevan, known to WKNC listeners as “DJ Stevo,” said he has since mastered the art of providing music to the masses. He is the local music director and also the host of his show called “Altered State,” which airs every Saturday from 10 p.m. to midnight.

Playing mainly progressive rock, Salevan said his show is not only relaxing to his listeners but also to himself. He said his least favorite part of his job is when his show is ending.

“Going to the station is a way to cool down after a week of nasty tests and work,” he said.

Although Salevan loves his job and doing shows, there is always the fear of messing up when on the air.

“‘Dead air’ is kind of like a dirty word as far as radio is concerned,” Salevan said.

As a service to their audience, the majority of DJs takes requests from listeners.

“I pretty much always take requests. As long as I think it fits the format, I’ll play it. Even if it’s something I don’t like,” Mitch Fraller, a senior in microbiology and a WKNC DJ called “Mr. X,” said.

Fraller hosts his show called “Afterhours” where he said he plays mainly electronic music.

For Fraller, a WKNC listener since high school, this is his passion. However, he said he probably won’t pursue radio after he graduates.

At WKNC, because it is a college station, there is more freedom to play requests, according to Salevan. Being able to play a specific song that a listener wants to hear is beneficial to everyone. “Here at the station, it affords you an opportunity to throw it on right then and really make that person feel awesome,” Salevan said, about call-in requests. WKNC doesn’t play one genre of music, according to Fraller. It offers many different sounds, including jazz, international music, rock, reggae and local artists.

The DJs also have options as to how the music is provided. Vinyl records, cassette tapes and CDs are a few ways that music is broadcast to the listeners. “We actually have a huge classic rock room … everything from the past 40 years on vinyl,” Fraller said. The station also plays live music, where DJs interview bands and allow them to play on the air to promote their band. Listeners can pick up WKNC, 25,000 watt station, from surrounding areas like Raleigh, Cary and Apex. WKNC, according to Fraller and Salevan, is constantly looking for more talented students to become DJs.

“You actually don’t have to have a huge commitment of time,” Fraller said.

There are training sessions required before someone can go on the air, but all students are invited if they are interested. Any student can be a part of the station, according to Salevan.

Johanan Vargas, a senior in microbiology, has also listened to WKNC since her freshman year. She said she learned about the station from a professor during class. Vargas said she listens to a lot of international music she found on WKNC.

Unlike Vargas and Fraller, not all students know NCSU has a radio station.

“Honestly, I’ve seen a couple of ads every once in a while, but there is not enough. If I hadn’t heard it from my teacher in class, I probably wouldn’t have realized it,” Vargas said.

The DJs said they want to raise the students’ awareness of the radio station.

To help with this, WKNC built a shack in the shape of a boom box for Habitat for Humanity’s annual Shack-a-thon held in the Brickyard. DJs said they spent time and effort for a “good cause” that also helped to promote the station.

“We’re trying to do that a whole lot more like with the Shack-a-thon. I mean, you just need to have more of a presence on campus,” Fraller said.