KWSC-FM 91.9 “The Cat,” Wayne State College’s radio station, celebrated the eleventh annual International Clash Day themed “Know Your Rights” on Tuesday, Feb. 7.  

International Clash Day originated at KEXP-FM 90.3, a radio station in Seattle, Washington in 2013 where they started playing back-to-back music from the punk rock band, The Clash.  

The Clash, coined by many fans as “The Only Band That Matters,” were a punk rock band formed in London in 1976 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.  

Sean X. Ahern, assistant professor of communication arts and KWSC-FM 91.9 advisor, said it started as playing those who influenced and were influenced by The Clash. International Clash Day evolved to be more about the issues The Clash stood for, Ahern said.  

Ahern introduced International Clash Day to WSC in 2022 during his second year teaching. 

“Anti-racist, anti-ignorance and pro-creative frames the idea of International Clash Day,” Ahern said. “The Clash are the clash of cultures in a moment.”  

“Know Your Rights” theme came from The Clash’s “Combat Rock” album’s song of the same name, which derived from the question discussing innate human liberties, Ahern said.  

“The clash is what ideas of humans and rights are and how it relates to the rest of the world,” Ahern said. “There’s a lot of varying ideas on campus to be discussed.” 

Griffin Presnell, a three-year staff member of KWSC-FM 91.9, liked how International Clash Day brought variety to the radio station. 

“The Clash were a very inherently political group, they cared a lot about bringing politics to the forefront and making sure people were aware of injustices going on,” Presnell said. “A lot of groups have taken that passion, which is why we have things like International Clash Day.”  

Ahern said “Know Your Rights” would consist of a table in the Kanter Student Center at WSC from 1-5 p.m. where students could discuss what defined human rights in “vox pops” (voice of the people in Latin). These mini-interviews would be intersected with music from The Clash and subsequently influenced groups like Rancid, Bad Religion and U2. 

International Clash Day was hosted by WSC students enrolled in the radio workshop along with volunteer DJ’s. Ahern encouraged WSC students to take after The Clash’s ideals of unity and participate in International Clash Day.  

“It’s great for comm majors to promote an event and work in social media,” Ahern said. “It’s also finding a way to send the message of what the college station can do and speak on issues not usually heard on radio.”  

WSC students could tune in to KWSC-FM 91.9 on any preferred smart device or access it through the radio’s Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.  

Presnell said students should expect to see a wide array of musical expression and what made The Clash so memorable on International Clash Day 2023.  

“What’s great about The Clash is going what’s past played on the radio,” Presnell said. “International Clash Day is able to bring forth a lot of issues that are present today.”