Club Schenley Looks to Change Tune on School Spirit

On an early spring day in Washington, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” emanated from a set of cheap Logitech speakers placed strategically along a set of third floor window screens.

“You are now listening to Club Schenley,” an automated female voice announced after the song ended. “We are taking song requests through Twitter and we’ll be back with more music.”

The George Washington University’s Schenley Hall, located at 2121 H St. N.W., lies directly in the heart of the school’s urban campus. Two weeks ago, sophomores Pranav Sethuraman, Saager Enjeti and Peter Finn transformed their third floor dorm room into a disc jockey’s booth so they could share their sounds with the people around them.

The trio’s room is now known as “Club Schenley,” and different styles of music radiate from the third floor window screens weekdays between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.

“We love playing our music, especially during nice days when there are people outside,” Enjeti said. “(Along H Street) You have the food trucks, Kogan Plaza, and a lot of foot traffic, which means we get more listeners.”

The group behind Club Schenley even created Twitter and Facebook pages where listeners can request songs, post comments, and interact with the DJs behind the eclectic sounds. Collectively, the sites have amassed over 100 followers. But the group never thought Club Schenley would be such a sensation.

“Originally, we wanted to play a raunchy song just once, just so we could see the reactions of
the people walking by below,” Sethuraman said. “Then, we started broadcasting funny things like, ‘This is God speaking from above.’ It was really fun seeing peoples’ reactions. They didn’t even realize the sound was coming from our windows.”

The group then realized they had a better idea: instead of scaring off pedestrians below, they could play music people would enjoy. The room then officially transformed into Club Schenley and the three DJs vowed to play a good balance of music free of profanity.

“The first song we broadcast was ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd,” Enjeti said. “When it started snowing one day, we played ‘Let It Snow.’ We’ve received a really positive reaction from the student body thus far.”

High-level university officials have also reacted favorably to the group’s innovation. GW Dean of Students Peter Konwerski requested a song through the group’s Twitter page and even expressed discontent with the fact the students would be offline during spring break. The group also received exposure when Foggy Bottom Blog, which has over 1,600 followers, retweeted them.

Club Schenley received mostly favorable reviews at first, but there were opponents.

“One of our neighbors was not too happy with our sounds, so we received a noise complaint,” Finn said. “We just want to create a good environment, and we never play offensive music. We just want good vibes.”

The group behind Club Schenley took steps to cultivate a good relationship with the University Police Dept., which regulates issues such as noise complaints. The group hopes a positive relationship with UPD will allow them to play their music under an official veil.

“When we first approached them, UPD was apathetic towards us,” Sethuraman said. “But when we picked up momentum, we were referred to the head honchos. We’re still waiting to hear back from them, but I think it was a good sign.”

While none of the founders have professional music experience, they said their love and good taste for music were all they needed. Each DJ brings something different to the group: Finn, a groovy sound enthusiast, plays songs from the funk genre; Sethuraman plays house and dubstep music; and Enjeti, who owns the speakers, promotes the station through social media platforms and prepares spots and packages for between songs.

The group treats the operation of Club Schenley like a real radio station.

“When we’re in the middle of a broadcast, I usually tell the DJ to play a spot or announcement at a certain time,” Enjeti said. “These spots increase our exposure because they tell listeners what we’re doing, and we also tell them to follow us on Twitter.”

The group also said Club Schenley has enhanced the ambiance and quality of student life on campus.

“The other day, we played the song ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’,” Enjeti said. “A few minutes after, I received a message from a friend who was having a tough time with midterms saying the song made her day better.”

The group said Club Schenley’s success represents a step forward in the fight against apathy in student life, a criticism leveled against the university in recent years. The group also said they view Club Schenley as having a major impact on the atmosphere of the university’s urban campus.

“When I think of college, I picture kids walking around campus bumping to music, just having a good time,” Sethuraman said. “What we have at this university is very different, and I want kids to really enjoy the music instead of walking around in suits, talking about their different internships.”

Follow Club Schenley on Twitter @ClubSchenely (sic) and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ClubSchenley.