Early History of WRPI (written circa 1955)

In 1934, Ed Bomer and Russ Schwarting originated a sub-staff on WHAZ called "Campus Review" whose purpose was to provide entertainment and news of campus life and activities to the students of RPI, the residents of Troy, and neighboring colleges. The group, composed of a Senior and a Junior Board, and apprentices, programmed half an hour of WHAZ's 6-hour schedule on Monday nights and grew to have an influential voice on campus.

In the spring of 1947, a new group was organized by Carl J. Kunz, Jr., a student in the Electrical Engineering Department, and was called the "Rensselaer Broadcasting Association." Its objectives, as outlined in a letter to the Student Union, were: (1) to encourage student interest in radio broadcasting activities, (2) to provide the necessary training for efficient operation of station WHAZ, and (3) to furnish the station with a continuing operational staff drawn from the student body. R.B.A. programmed all of WHAZ's schedule and operated in conjunction with Campus Review which still continued.

About the fall of 1947, the Radio Club, operating amateur radio station W2SZ, experimented with a relatively new form of campus broadcasting known as carrier-current AM broadcasting. The experimental set-up was located with W2SZ in the attic of the Russell Sage Laboratory. The listenership of this small group was limited to the Freshman Quadrangle, and the activity under the leadership of Howard Lester, Bob Wengenroth, and Craig Andrews, was familiarly called WRPI. Through the courtesy of the E.E. Department's war surplus supply bins, and the limited financial aid of interested members, the station accumulated a minimum of equipment and began to serve its limited audience.

As time passed, Student Union leaders noted the confusion reigning on campus over the multiplicity of radio activities and encouraged consolidation. Accordingly, in April 1948, a loose federation composed of Campus Review, R.B.A., W2SZ, and WRPI, was formed, primarily for budget purposes. So formed, the "Radio Council" represented all radio activities at Rensselaer, enjoying a more or less harmonious life for three years.

As the old faces left Troy and new, ambitious students rose through the ranks, the overlapping Campus Review and R.B.A. and their differences with each other and with WRPI changed co-operation into actively divergent factions. Under the leadership of Robert Sounders, the member so the Radio Council planned, in March 1951, a new and more satisfactory organizational setup. Henceforth, radio at RPI would be divided into amateur and broadcasting activities: Campus Review, Rensselaer Broadcasting Association, and station WRPI combined into the single organization called "Radio Rensselaer"; W2SZ continued operation as the Radio Club.

The following are the Preamble and first two articles of the Radio Rensselaer Constitution:

PREAMBLE

In order to increase the efficiency of all campus radio endeavors, Campus Review, Rensselaer Broadcasting Association, and WRPI of the Radio Club do hereby combine and subscribe as one group to this Constitution.

ARTICLE I - NAME

Section 101. The name of this organization shall be Radio Rensselaer.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

Section 201. The purpose of this organization shall be to operate a student-administrated, limited area, AM broadcasting station on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and to co-operate in the programming activities conducted by any Institute-owned broadcasting facilities.

While RPI radio was undergoing its organizational evolution, station WRPI grew vigorously, first under the sheltering wing of W2SZ and later in its own right. Here, chronologically, are a few highlights along the rocky road:

1947-48

Fall 1948

Spring 1949

Fall 1949

Spring 1950

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

Fall 1953

Spring 1954

Fall 1954