Radio WHWS-FM

WHWS-LP (105.7 FM) is an LPFM radio station operated by Hobart and William Smith Colleges and broadcasting to Geneva, New York. It is primarily staffed by the students of HWS. The station is owned by the Finger Lakes Regional Arts Council (which manages The Smith Opera House in Geneva).

WHWS-LP was originally applied for as WSAC-LP as a LPFM (low powered FM) license and had a variety of different, sporadic, shows. Eventually the station was organized around having Radio Bilingue as its core programming, and began continuous operations as such towards the end of 2007. In January 2008, a fully-functional studio was brought on-line in conjunction with WEOS and full operations commenced with HWS student programming intermixed with Radio Bilingue.

The call letters were still WSAC-LP (the Smith (Opera House) Arts Council) in early 2008 due to some minor bureaucratic delays; the "WHWS" call letters were originally assigned by the FCC, via the US Coast Guard, to a defunct World War II naval vessel. But in mid-May 2008, the change to WHWS-LP became official.

While the WHWS studios are located in the same building as the other Hobart and William Smith Colleges station, WEOS, and both stations share some of the same staff members...there is virtually no direct coordination between the two operations in regards to programming; the two stations are designed to be separate and independent offerings to Geneva. Similarly, while WEOS is under the direct control of the Colleges of the Seneca, WHWS is under the control of a separate entity - the Finger Lakes Regional Arts Council.

However, like WEOS, there are multiple opportunities for Hobart & William Smith students to volunteer at WHWS in the areas of music vetting/organization, promotions, sports, and the like.

The WHWS Air Studio