“THE PLUMBER”
Executive Producer of Lovercall
“THE ELECTRICIAN”
Lovercall Producer
Hello!
We are “The Plumber” and “The Electrician”: two producers of the radio show Lovercall right here at SUNY Fredonia. Lovercall is an anonymous late-night talk show about love, relationships and more. Students who come on the show use a codename to protect their identities when discussing potentially personal topics, hence the codenames of the writers of this column.
On each episode, the hosts and guests of Lovercall participate in a variety of segments. The cast discusses a relevant news story, a date idea, a “worst ever” experience and finally a main topic for the episode.
The show is streamed weekly on Thursdays from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. on WDVL 89.5 or at www.fredoniaradio.com.
This column runs in conjunction with Lovercall and can be found both in print and online at fredonialeader.org.
“The Plumber” is a 21 year-old cisgender male who goes by he/him/his pronouns and is a senior at SUNY Fredonia.
“The Electrician” is a 19 year-old cisgender female student who goes by she/her/hers pronouns and is a junior at SUNY Fredonia.
Together, we hope to provide our best advice about college relationships, dating, friendships and other aspects of college life.
For our first column, we decided to discuss the role of electronics in college relationships.
Electronics can both benefit and harm various types of relationships you may form in college, including friendships, romantic relationships and professional relationships.
Firstly, electronics can be a good tool to stay in touch with your college friends and partners during busy times of the semester or breaks.
“I try to stay in touch with all of my friends on both social media and by calling them whenever I can. A big part of college is making friends,” – “The Electrician.”
Photograph by Prince Hunt.
“Paul,” a regular host of Lovercall, also gave his input.
“While electronics can sometimes be viewed as harmful to our social skills and relationships, I think they can be managed healthily. As long as you can communicate with your partner your views and values concerning it, I don’t buy that texting ruins relationships. Let your partner know how much weight a text holds to you, things you’re more comfortable not texting about, when you want the other person to be more present during certain situations and other things that we might be used to not openly talking about. As long as it’s talked about, phones and other electronics don’t have to hurt or be a hindrance,” – “Paul.”
“The Plumber” also offers his advice:
“Technology — especially cellphones and texting — has a huge impact on relationships. Be careful not to fall into a habit of texting your partner every few minutes nonstop. This can be draining and lead to a situation where the excessive communication can actually be quite toxic. I’ve found myself in this situation before, and I can assure you — it’s not good for your mental health to be worried about when that next text will arrive.”
Overall, electronics can be very helpful in certain situations, but if you’re not careful, they can harm a relationship.
Date idea of the week
We also hope to provide our fellow students with a fun and unique date idea with every column, just like on Lovercall. These “date” ideas aren’t just for romantic partners — you could go with your friends, your classmates or you can even go solo for a fun activity right here in Fredonia.
Seeing as this issue comes out in the heat of summer, we at Lovercall think it best to cool off with an icy treat.
Big Dipper Ice Cream Parlor is a Fredonia staple and an excellent place to go as a first hangout with friends or even a first date.
Image retrieved from @bigdipperic on Facebook.
Located just a bit north of campus on Central Avenue, Big Dipper is close enough to the college for a fun outing, yet it is distinct enough to get you off campus and in town for a while.
“I personally recommend the Cookie Monster Dessert — plenty of cookie goodness without being overwhelmingly chocolatey,” – “The Plumber.”
Big Dipper offers a variety of desserts such as sundaes, milkshakes, slushies and even homemade cakes and cookies.
Everything is homemade by Big Dipper staff themselves, and they offer many unique flavors of hard ice cream.
“If you’ve never had homemade ice cream from Big Dipper, you’re seriously missing out,” – “The Electrician.”
Be sure to consider going to Big Dipper next time you need a new hangout or date idea this upcoming semester!
You can visit their website at https://www.bigdippericecream.net/ and follow them on Instagram, @bigdipperic, and Facebook, @bigdipperic.
Reach out!
Do you want to ask the authors of Lovercolumn a question? Do you need advice? Fill out the form by using this QR code.
Interested in being a guest on Lovercall? Email frs@fredonia.edu or visit Fredonia Radio Systems, located in 115 McEwen Hall and open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The Plumber” and “The Electrician” are members of Fredonia Radio Systems and are involved in the production of Lovercall.