“Our blessed radio gives us eyes and ears into the world. We listen to the German station only for good music. And we listen to the BBC for hope.” – Anne Frank
As it was for Anne Frank, radio is a blessing for Monmouth College.
The College didn’t have a radio station at the time of World War II, but by the early 1960s, one was in place. Today, that station at 105.9 FM goes by the call letters WPFS – Proud Fighting Scots radio.
In honor of World College Radio Day, the station, which is located on the third floor of Wallace Hall, will host an open house from 1-3 p.m. Oct. 6. The emphasis for this year’s celebration is that the radio station “will embrace every voice and every diversity, regardless of race, ethnicity, country of origin, gender expression, sexual orientation and religion,” said Jan Abel ’24 of Wataga, Illinois, who serves as station manager.
A blessing, indeed.
“This year for radio day, we’re really hoping to just get the word out about radio,” said Abel. “We’re hosting our open house in the radio lab for any student/faculty/alum who would like to stop by. We’ve been on this campus since 1961, and we know there is interest, and there’d be even more interest if more people knew we were here. That’s our goal for not only radio day, but the rest of the school year, as well.”
Abel got into radio early in her Monmouth career.
“Fun fact: I didn’t start in radio until I got to college,” she said. “Coming into college, I needed to find a job. I signed up for a radio workshop, and (WPFS-FM adviser) Chris Goble could not get rid of me.”
Earlier this year, Abel was named one of the nation’s top five Next Step Radio Scholars, completing a journey that has seen her advance from novice, to social media director, to station manager.
Fighting for radio
Goble reinforced Abel’s sentiments about the goal of the radio day celebration on campus.
“College Radio Day provides the opportunity for us to shine a light on the great work these students do every day,” he said. “So if we can get just a few more people to listen and a few more to get involved with radio, it will be a success.”
The spotlight on radio is to encourage those who wouldn’t often listen to such stations – or even radio, in general – to do so.
“It is all about local,” said Goble. “There needs to be someone local there for us to turn to in times of joy, sorrow, danger and trouble. Someone who will give us the information and entertainment to send us through the day knowing what we need to know and maybe, just maybe, with a song in our heart. That someone in many small communities is radio and, more specifically, college radio.”
Though people sometimes ignore radio, calling it “old-fashioned” and prioritizing today’s modern technology for music and information, Abel, Goble and rest of the proud Fighting Scots staff want the campus and local community to understand that radio is still there, doing its job.
“I think radio is different from the other social media because of how it’s so auditory,” said Abel. “We’re your friends, chatting with you throughout the day, more than just posting a photo of our cat. It’s also a lot more local in some cases – especially with college radio. We’re Fighting Scots talking to and about things that are important for our community.”
Want to know more? Tune your FM dial to 105.9 to hear what WPFS is up to this week as it builds toward its Oct. 6 open house.
***Courtesy of Barry McNamara, Monmouth College***
