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WESN 88.1 FM

IWU Student 1972
An unidentified Illinois Wesleyan student from WESN's first year broadcasting in 1972.

WESN 88.1 FM is a 100 watt student-run, college radio station that was established at Illinois Wesleyan University in 1972 and has been active on campus for the past 50 years. The station was primarily managed by students during the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s when college radio was one of the primary, if not only, outlets for alternative and “non-pop” music. With the advent of music streaming services, the way in which college students shared and accessed music changed dramatically, leading to decreased participation at WESN.

In 2020, a process was initiated to “reboot” WESN, which included physical changes to the studio space located in Kemp Hall as well as the creation of a new management structure designed to provide consistent leadership and support during both the academic year and summer months. Even with the most recent changes, the mission of the station has remained the same since its founding in the early 1970’s: provide a creative outlet for the IWU community to participate in live radio broadcasting and present the Bloomington/Normal community with broadcasting content not found through other radio outlets.

Requests:

309-556-2634 or 556-2635

Office: 309-556-2638

Email: wesn@iwu.edu

Artists & Labels

submit materials to:

Derek Bohlman

WESN 88.1 FM

PO Box 2900

Bloomington IL 61702

Email: dbohlman@iwu.edu

Address for Deliveries:

WESN 88.1 FM

1207 N Main St.

Bloomington, IL 61701