Elmhurst College radio station celebrates 50th anniversary

Elmhurst College’s student-run radio station, WRSE-FM 88.7, will celebrate its 50th anniversary today with an open house and party.

The festivities will include refreshments and live music beginning at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10, in the Bluejays’ Roost, located in the basement of the Frick Center, 190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst. Admission is free but donations will benefit Relay For Life or scholarships for Elmhurst students.

In late August, the station celebrated the completion of major equipment upgrades that have improved the radio experience for listeners and provided a more professional working environment for the student DJs and staff. Motivated by the renovations, students are moving the station toward one day serving as the voice of Elmhurst and surrounding communities.

WRSE has been on the air since 1947 but became a licensed broadcasting operation, at 88.7 FM, in 1962. Its programming includes a variety of music selected and played by dozens of student DJs, and its broadcast area reaches communities within a 15-mile radius of the college.

Radio celebrities who got their start at WRSE include WXRT DJ Terri Hemmert (Class of 1970), WBBM NewsRadio 780 Business/Financial Editor Len Walter (Class of 1962), and B96 DJ Justin Roman (Class of 2000), half of the on-air duo of Stylz and Roman.

Elmhurst College is a leading liberal arts college located eight miles west of Chicago. The college’s mission is to prepare its students for meaningful and ethical work in a multicultural, global society. Approximately 3,400 full- and part-time students are enrolled in its 23 undergraduate academic departments and 10 graduate degree programs.