CFRC Launches Fall 2025 AMS Optional Fee Campaign

📣🎙 Keep the Frequency Alive.🎙📣

CFRC 101.9 FM. Your voice in the media since 1922!

Vote YES to renew CFRC’s optional $8.22 AMS student fee, November 12–14th!  

✉️BALLOTS WILL BE EMAILED TO ALL AMS MEMBERS 12:01 AM NOVEMBER 12TH!
🗳️VOTING STARTS IN 7 DAYS!!🗳️

✅ Our question that will appear on the ballot! ✅

“Do you agree to the continuation of the CFRC 101.9 FM fee of $8.22 (subject to individual opt out) for the next three years? This fee was originally established in 1976 and last went to referendum in 2022.”

💗💗💗We hope you do agree!  But want to learn more to make an informed decision?  Here’s what our campaign is all about!  Thanks for stopping by! 💗💗💗

CFRC 2025 Campaign Brief

CFRC 101.9 FM is Queen’s voice - YOUR voice- in the media! Broadcasting since 1922 and podcasting since 2018, CFRC is the space on campus where students share their voices, ideas, perspectives, creativity, research, initiatives and interests with a global community, make their marks, and jumpstart their careers. Our music and spoken word content broadcasts on 101.9 FM and Cogeco Cable 282; streams at cfrc.ca and our mobile apps; and podcasts through Spotify and Apple Music. 75% of CFRC pod/broadcasters are Queen’s students or alumni who enjoy opportunities to engage with and shape their communities on campus, in Kingston, and around the world. Students are also members on our Board of Directors ensuring student vision and leadership steers your campus radio station.

100% of student fees go directly to the maintenance and operation of the station in Lower Carruthers Hall: maintaining the space and the one of the largest music collections in the region, keeping our equipment updated and in good repair, training broadcasters and podcasters, and paying staff wages (all CFRC staff are students or recent Queen’s graduates) including station administration and program coordination. Fees also support the creation of student employment opportunities through SWEP and Work Study Program and support the creation of news programming, public service announcements and our daily broadcasted events calendars that inform students about current issues, events and services of which they can take advantage.

On and off the airwaves, students gain life-long career-building skills in research, audio production, writing, oral presentation, listening, interviewing, time-management, collaboration and team-building, outreach and event-planning, infl uencing others, customer orientation, strategic thinking, and leadership.

When was CFRC established?

CFRC is the second oldest radio station in Canada and the world’s longest running campus radio station.  CFRC was established by students and two professors in the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1922 in Fleming Hall. Our first broadcast on October 7th 1922 was a post-game summary of a Queen’s Tricolour-Hamilton Rowing Club exhibition football game.  The station’s early focus was indeed on sports-broadcasting, a tradition we maintain today, alongside music & campus and local news.

What is CFRC’s Mission and Mandate?

CFRC’s mandate is to provide innovative, alternative radio programming that enriches and challenges the academic and cultural life of Queen’s University and Kingston communities, and to provide members with the opportunity to gain skills and experience in the collective operation of a radio station whose programming and practices are not constrained by demands for profit. Our mission is to empower and celebrate the diversity of Kingston and Queen’s through innovative, non-commercial, community-oriented radio programming and pod/broadcast learning opportunities.

How is CFRC unique among similar campus services?

While other media sources including the Queen’s Journal exist on campus, CFRC is unique in its delivery of music, news, sports, and creative arts programming 24 hours/day, 7 days per week on various platforms. Our music and spoken word content broadcasts on 101.9 FM and Cogeco Cable 282, streams at cfrc.ca, our mobile apps including iHeartradio, and we also podcast through Spotify and Apple Music. Further, we post campus and local news content daily to our website (in addition to on air coverage during our daily news programs). We also post campus and community concerts and events, and share information related to services of especial benefi t to students and all students can submit information anytime at no cost. CFRC employs several staff members, including students, however, the bulk of our on air programming is student volunteer-driven. Each day, our volunteers provide fresh, unique radio shows covering news, arts, and music across genres. Their radio shows are punctuated with free public service announcements we create at no cost for student groups, campus services, and community non-profi ts. Our radio station is a space where students can learn new translatable job skills and also engage with and help shape their communities on campus, in Kingston and around the world with their ideas, initiatives, voices and creativity. We provide training, all experience levels are welcome, allowing more opportunities for students to try something new and make their mark.

How is CFRC inclusive to AMS and SGPS members and how does it ensure we engage with those members?

CFRC embraces and practices diversity, accessibility, equity and inclusion as core organizational values in our policies to ensure all project participants, volunteers, staff , visitors, and community listeners enjoy safe positive experiences in our studios and on our airwaves. CFRC actively recruits volunteers and staff from both the AMS and SGPS through in person, on air, and online outreach overseen by our Board Marketing Committee. Content that we develop, including news, topical spoken-word and music programming is accessible and of information and entertainment interest to both AMS and SGPS members. We also publish service information on our website and our on-air PSAs related to events, initiatives and services of interest to both student groups including weekly updates from Four Directions and Career Services, for example. In addition to our 24/7 broadcasting, we engage students through daily posts and stories on social media that promote our programming and opportunities for students to get involved at CFRC. We DJ at campus events and in front of Carruthers Hall taking song requests from students, do booth work in MacCorry and the ARC typically a few times per month, and host seasonal events open to all students.

What is CFRC’s presence within the Queen’s community?

CFRC 101.9 FM isn’t just a radio station 

It’s an active hub connecting Queen’s students, campus groups, and the Kingston community through shared stories, live events, and 24/7 creative programming.

CFRC supports student groups and Queen’s University units with daily news coverage, interviews, on air promotions, website listings and social media posts related to campus news, events, initiatives and services of benefit to all members of the Queen’s community, particularly students. Our accessible content is available 24/7 on FM radio, web stream & mobile apps. Queen’s community members including students also reach new audiences and help shape the community daily through CFRC’s podcast network including channels through Spotify and Apple Music. Still further, our website is a hub for live music and spoken word radio programming while we publish daily campus and local news as well as concert and event listings of interest to students. Our website also features video content featuring live-in-studio musical performances by local and student musicians. In addition to our regular programming we off er broadcast support throughout the year with live coverage of Gaels sports, the Tricolour Awards, Homecoming, Orientation Week events, and of course, we undertake interviews with candidates and clubs ahead of elections and referenda coverage for both the AMS and SGPS.

Your support helps CFRC continue being a trusted voice for students and the community.

Every “YES” vote ensures the next generation of Queen’s students has a platform to share their ideas, play their music, and tell their stories.

Your Voice. Your Station. Your Vote.

What do my optional student fees support at CFRC?

Your fee support in-person hands-on training and mentorship for student volunteers on our radio airwaves, podcasts and creative studio projects. Fees support learning experiences for students through for-credit internships, Work Study and SWEP programs, opportunities that provide meaningful, translatable learning and career-building experience for students. 

🎙️Your Fees support our podcast platform where students and student groups also share their ideas, initiatives, research, creativity, and viewpoints to global audiences as well as on CFRC broadcast radio.🎙️

📱 your Fees help us maintain our new website and mobile streaming apps making campus radio accessible where students are in the digital era. 📱

🏫Your Fees help us run our Shortwave Radio Theatre Festivals and youth camps where students play leading roles in radio theatre productions. Fees support our various workshop series open to all students including DJ, sports broadcasting, and live studio performance workshops, providing more opportunities for student talent to capture new audiences. Further, fees support costs associated with our on air promotions of campus events, services and initiatives for all student clubs.🏫

💰Ultimately, student fees have helped support programming that allows students to develop broadcast and podcast skills including audio recording, mixing and production; oral presentation, listening, and interview skills; research and writing; outreach and marketing; time management and more-skills and core competencies they can carry forward on their career paths while enjoying CFRC as a place to make friends and connections at Queen’s and in the community.💰

CFRC seeks renewal of its optional fee to help support rising costs and meet community demand for accessible information and entertainment. Staffing, equipment, and maintenance costs continue to climb and we must secure renewal of our optional student fees to ensure costs are met and that we may continue running beneficial programming by and for students. Running a radio station requires more staff and working equipment to ensure license and federal regulatory compliance; fiscal integrity; equipment maintenance, repair and replacement; volunteer pod/broadcaster training; student staff training and mentorship; program development and coordination; music archive and library maintenance; web and podcast site development and maintenance; outreach and fundraising; and service for campus and community members requiring our promotional and studio services.

❤️ Why Your Vote Matters ❤️

When you vote YES for CFRC, you’re investing in:

Student leadership and creativity
Community connection across Kingston
Accessible, inclusive campus media for everyone

Your vote keeps the frequency alive.
Your Voice. Your Station. Your Vote.

Why did CFRC pick the fee amount for which it is campaigning?

Other campus stations have fee rates set between $10-36 and the national average is $11.43. Our fee is calibrated to give Queen’s students a fully functional, 24/7 radio station for less than what students pay elsewhere. To maintain operational capacity, the station must have more staff to perform critical tasks to keep the station’s programs running smoothly, 100+ student and community volunteers well-trained and supported, and equipment maintained and updated where necessary. Like many non-profits, CFRC engages in fundraising, where we typically raise between $18-25,000 annually from the community, a fraction of the costs to operate a fully functioning campus radio station. CFRC has not increased its student fee since 2014 as we remain responsible stewards of our funding and budgeting overseen by our Board of Directors that includes student representatives. However, costs of living and inflation have risen and we must meet higher costs including staffing and equipment.

What is CFRC doing to ensure the long-term sustainability of the station?

As a licensed campus-community broadcaster, CFRC has capacity to sell limited advertising and on-air program sponsorships for deployment on our airwaves. Further, CFRC rents out studio space to campus and community individuals and groups to record music, podcasts, class projects and more. We also engage in an annual funding drive to collect donations from community listeners to support programming at CFRC. CFRC also applies for and receives grants from Queen’s University, the City of Kingston, and the Community Radio Fund of Canada to support specific projects. Through our Beginner-level DJ and live-on-location broadcasting workshops, we are increasing our capacity to generate more revenue through DJing and live broadcasting on and off campus events with more trained volunteers. We are also increasing our capacity to record special events, lectures, conference proceedings, sporting matches and more, while generating revenue through post-production work including editing, mixing and mastering for a diverse clientele. All financial activities are overseen by Radio Queen's University's Finance Committee and Board of Directors with additional support from our bookkeeper and our Auditor, MNP LLP to nurture CFRC's long-term fiscal integrity.  All students can review our Financial Statements any time of year on our website HERE.

Your Voice. Your Station. Your Vote.

Ballots will be sent by the AMS to your Queen’s Email Address on November 12th 2025 at 12:01 AM!

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Thanks for dropping by CFRC’s campaign page on our website!  

While you’re here!

• Check out our program schedule to learn more about our content
• Watch student-filmed videos with student and community bands performing music live on our studios
• Stream our music and spoken word radio content by clicking the ‘play’ icon at the top of your browser
• Visit our news page and concert & events listings for the latest details on what’s happening on campus and in the Kingston area
• Learn more about how you can submit a free PSA for a student led event, service, or initiative
• ….And of course, learn more about how you can start your own radio show or podcast! 

Drop by anytime for a visit in lower Carruthers Hall (next to the Campus Bookstore building)!  We’d love to meet you and you’re always welcome!  And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @cfrcmusic for the latest in what’s happening on YOUR campus radio station every day!

Thank you!

Ellie Stirton, CFRC 101.9 FM Referendum Campaign Manager, ArtsSci ‘26
Dinah Jansen (PhD ’15), Executive Director, CFRC 101.9 FM