A new face will be manning next year’s helm of KSLU, Saint Louis University’s campus radio station. Junior Ron Parres was named general manager in late March, overseeing the station’s general operations and staff.

“Every general manager brings his or her own talent to the position of KSLU manager,” said incumbent GM Brian Suda.

“Next year, Ron, through his talents and experience, will help KSLU move forward with all of its projects,” Suda continued.

Parres, who is double-majoring in marketing and economics, said that his main duty will be to increase the student body’s awareness of KSLU.

“We want to make sure that students, especially those who live off campus, know that we exist,” he said.

Parres has big plans for the future of the station. His goals for the year include finalizing plans for and implementing Web Radio-the broadcast of KSLU’s talk and music shows via the radio station’s Web site, http://kslu.slu.edu.

The main concern is that, with Internet broadcasting and an increased public audience, KSLU’s shows must adhere strictly to FCC regulations and policies. “We have to be completely error-free,” Parres said.

According to Parres, KSLU has the potential to be “a lot more professional” by updating its equipment, including a soundboard that was built during the early 1970s.

As GM, Parres will oversee approximately eight other directors-in the areas of programming, production, music, engineering and events.

The number of DJs varies from year to year. “There are so many people that are involved, and all of the DJs-no matter how long or short their shows-are just as important,” Parres said.

“This year we have a lot of seniors graduating, so Ron has the difficult task of recruiting people and training a staff,” Suda said, adding, “In a way, that’s good because it will bring fresh ideas to the table.”

Parres also said that he plans to increase the station’s amount of advertising, both through newspaper advertisements and flyers distributed throughout campus. “I think we’ve been under-advertised these past few years,” he said. “I’d encourage DJs to have flyers or handbills to promote their shows.”

One advantage that KSLU has over local radio stations is the wide variety of music that’s played, Parres said.

“This isn’t corporate radio,” Parres continued. “We play music genres that local stations often overlook, such as underground hip hop, electronic music and more jazz music.”

Parres previously served as events director during his sophomore year, and as electronic music director during his sophomore and junior years, except for last fall when he studied at Oxford University.

Parres is heavily involved on the University campus. In addition to his involvement with KSLU, Parres is a member of three different honors societies and will also serve as an undergraduate commuter senator for the Student Government Association.