In October, Eric Lobenfeld, Esq '71 sat again in the WHRW sound booth and broadcast his brand of music to the local listeners, just as he did 34 years ago when his program, "Radio London," played on the airwaves of WHRW. He was amazed at the technical changes that have taken place in the station since he was a student DJ, most notably, the change from vinyl records to CD's. But still he enjoyed the opportunity to once again play his brand of music. When Lobenfeld had been host of his own radio show as a student, he included music from the Metropolitan Opera, commentary from NPR and music not heard on other local stations.
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"If you wanted to hear The Who or Jimmy Hendrix in Binghamton , you had to listen to it on WHRW," he said.
Lobenfeld was part of a group of students who transformed the station into something serious, affiliating it with National Public Radio and broadcasting classical music. As a DJ then general manager of the station, Lobenfeld learned skills that would carry over into his career.
"We were a group of students managing a big operation," he recalls. "I learned budgets, management and people skills. I learned what it is like to talk to a lot of people at once without being nervous. My radio experience, and philosophy classes, shape who I am today."
Lobenfeld is an attorney in New York City with Hogan & Hartson, LLP, and he specializes in patent and copyright law. Earning his philosophy degree has helped him in litigations, as he is better able to understand subtleties in arguments, analyze ideas and be comfortable with divergent groups He had intended to go into radio, and many of his WHRW friends did pursue that career path, but his first radio job working with someone on an all-night talk show disillusioned him, and he followed a different career route. His music interests continue, though, and recently he accompanied one of his teen aged daughters to a rock concert.
Lobenfeld looks forward to participating in the 40 th anniversary of WHRW next year on Homecoming Weekend, October 6 -8, and he still keeps in touch with some of his radio station classmates. "My whole college life centered around WHRW," he said. He even lived in O'Connor and Endicott Halls because they were the closest to the station.
Now he has connected with a number of Binghamton graduates who work in New York City and he serves with them on the Harpur Law Council. Service such as this to his alma mater is part of why he was awarded the Harpur College Alumni Award in Fine Arts and Humanities in 2005. "It was a wonderful thing," Lobenfeld recalls. "I was really moved. My experience at Harpur is not something I focus on every day, but when I was notified of the award, I became aware of how many skills I learned at Harpur that I now use daily."
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