South’s Radio station, WWPH 107.9 FM. is tucked between the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms, across from the nurses office in rooms 500 A and B. The radio station was built in 1975 when there was only one high school in the district, in West Windsor Plainsboro High school. In 1997, the original high school became South, and West Windsor Plainsboro High school North was built. But North students continued coming to the South campus to participate in the Radio Station, WWPH 107.9 FM.

This November marks the Radio Station’s 50th year of operation. Leading the way is Mr. Glenn Allison, who teaches Digital Media and Communications at both schools and serves as the adviser for WWPH 107.9 FM and Radio Club. The club empowers South and North students with hands on experience with running the school radio station.

The station’s history dates back to the 1970s, as recounted in a zoom interview by Denise Bowker (‘80), a student from 1974-80 whose father helped build the station. The establishment of WWPH 107.9 FM required a lot of planning. The idea for a school radio station “started off with a proposal to the school board, and an application to the Federal Communications Commission, for a 10 watt FM broadcast station,” Bowker said.

A 10 watt FM broadcasting station is a low power station typically used for small scale, local broadcasting.

Once built, the students who took charge of running the station had to test its reach. “One bright, sunny day, we turned it on the air and did a test for three or four hours, and we drove all around the town to see where you could and couldn’t hear the station,” Bowker recalled.

The high school radio station has historically given students opportunities to experience the world of professional media through covering activities like sports and local politics. “We went to some of the presidential
press conferences. Both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter came to New Jersey, and we got press badges and took equipment, and a whole bunch of students went into the press pool, and we traveled around with these two presidential candidates for a day. That was a blast,” said Bowker.

More locally, they also interviewed their congresswoman Millicent Fenwick, who served four terms in the House of Representatives from 1974. Over a zoom interview, Christina Fan (‘08) said that as a station manager, “we would spotlight pretty much every local election there was, from school board elections to the mayoral election.

I feel like it really taught us from a young age the importance of community service in a way of giving back and being informed and aware.”In addition to emphasizing the importance of community service and awareness, Mr. Allison also emphasizes the importance of students having hands-on experience with the station.

Mr. Allison encourages students in Radio Club to take responsibility and get involved in what they are doing. “You fail sometimes, but you’ll be even better for it when you get up,” he said. “I try to create an atmosphere down here where you can do that and just keep growing.”

The program’s most profound legacy is the “transferable skills” it teaches students. “When you leave here, no matter what you do, these skills will come in handy,” Mr Allison said. He added the station is “probably more relevant than ever,” providing a crucial collaborative space for developing communication skills that are “one of the most sought after and lacking skills in business today.”

Mr. Bryan Fisher (‘96), who was on South‘s Morning Broadcast when he was a student, wrote in an email stating that one of the most valuable skills the Station taught him was how to connect with people. “It taught me how to engage, relate, and communicate in a way that makes people feel included and understood,” he said.

Fan, now a reporter for CBS New York, said, “I never would have picked journalism as a profession if it hadn’t been for broadcast writing and the radio station”. Fan emphasized the program’s ethics, teaching her that it is “always more important to be right than first” and to remain fair and unbiased.

As WWPH 107.9 FM sails into its 50th year, it’s a source of pride for its alumni. Kate Miller (‘92), who spent 30 years in television production operations, credits the station with sparking the passion that launched into her three decade career. “I’m super proud of it. I think it’s amazing. I’m very glad to hear that it’s still around and still active,” she said.

Mike Lacett (‘01), who led the radio station’s 25th broadcast, also credited the radio station for helping discover his passion for sports broadcasting. When talking about his bio, he said, “One thing that I always make sure I include is that I got my start at 107.9. I know it’s small but to me I take great pride in it.”

Alumni of the radio station credit Mr. Allison for the community they found in 107.9. Fan said, “When I was deciding what my first job was going to be. I called other alumni of 107.9, and asked, ‘Hey, what suggestions do you have?’”

Lacett found that the radio station will never lose it’s significance or relevance. He explained that even though, “We don’t see radio, it’s still important,” Lacett said, at South, there will always be a need for WWPH 107.9.