The initial organizational effort to launch a brand-new campus radio station occurred in 1971 guided by student Phil Hawkins. Trepidations expressed by then President of Elon, Dr. J. Earl Danieley, fearing "what the students will say" resulted in the proposal being shelved. It was not until J. Fred Young became president in 1973 that serious fund-raising was started and FCC applications were submitted. WSOE first received their charter from the
Federal Communications Commission in 1977. WSOE first broadcast on September 29, 1977, with the first full broadcast on October 6, 1977. WSOE's first broadcast was “
More Than a Feeling” by
Boston, as chosen by then station manager, Bill Zint. The call letters "WSOE" were originally held by the
Milwaukee School of Engineering, but were acquired by the new Elon radio station when their charter was granted. WSOE was the 21st attempt to gain call letter approval from the licensing department of the Federal Communications Commission. As of spring 2020, the station broadcasts the majority of
Elon Phoenix Women's Basketball games. During the spring of 2009, the station started its webcast, expanding its range to anyone with an internet connection. As of 2012, the webcast has been available on
TuneIn through both their website and mobile apps. WSOE has reported charts to CMJ on and off over the course of its history and has been consistently reporting since early 2013. The original WSOE studio, newsroom, office, and production room was located across from Harden Dining Hall. The entire station was moved (with the exception of the transmitter and radio tower) over the winter of 1994 into the then newly opened Moseley Center. WSOE will be moved into the McEwen School of Communications after the construction of its addition, which is planned to be underway in early 2016. The station's transmitter was originally located on the south side of Harden Dining Hall, but after the building's demolition in May 2012, a temporary radio tower was placed on the Moseley Center. The station now broadcasts from a newer cell tower, located just off-campus. In early 2017, WSOE moved studios from the Moseley Student Center into the basement of the newly renovated McEwen Communications School. The station briefly ceased operations during the move. The new station included
Wheatstone equipment,
audio over Ethernet, a new studio, a mixing room, and a new scheduling system. In 2018, WSOE launched its podcasting program, allowing students to create and launch their own podcasts through all major distribution services. The program was created by Joseph Henry-Penrose, Patrick Larsen, and Annie Kalinowski, launching with 5 podcasts. ==Format==