NIGHT WRITERS:

Pipe Dreamers do it all night long.

Twice a week, in fact -- on Mondays and Thursdays, production nights when the paper is edited, laid out, proofed and (by 4 a.m. Tuesday and Friday) e-mailed to the printer.

At about 5 p.m. on a Thursday evening, the Pipe Dream office is relatively quiet -- two sports editors are tapping away at their computers, and the news editor is alternately going over a story with one of the writers at one computer and discussing a story with a new assistant news editor at another. A few students cause a brief hubbub when they come in carrying a broken light table, and in the back room, graphics and layout staff are putting together ads and starting to scan photos for Friday's issue.

The Colonial News becomes Pipe Dream The campus student newspaper changed from Colonial News to Pipe Dream in the spring of 1970. The change came about in response to letters to the editor from students who objected to the name as elevating the idea of colonialism, according to Miggie Warms '72. "In the context of the Vietnam War, the U.S. was seen as potentially colonizing places like Southeast Asia, so the name Colonial News was defeated by the more whimsical Pipe Dream." For more information about the name change, see "Mailbox" on page 4 for a letter about Peter Salgo '72 (who died in 2002), the first editor-in-chief of the re-christened Pipe Dream. Read Pipe Dream online at www.bupipedream.com.

By 6 p.m., editors and writers are huddled around all six computers in the newsroom, and the door is swinging with all the comings and goings of students that continues nonstop for the rest of the evening, bringing in a continuous stream of new faces -- not to mention a few exotic hair colors.

Students come to work on stories with editors, leave to grab a bite to eat upstairs in the Food Court, come back to eat as they work in the newsroom. As the evening progresses, proofing of freshly printed sheets goes on unabated through meetings and editing sessions.

Between 6 and 7 p.m., the paper's Release (arts and entertainment) section staff -- joking loudly and cheerfully denigrating one another with familiar affection -- arrives and gathers on the sofas and chairs in front of a whiteboard in one corner of the room. Editor Aaron Riccio, armed with a handful of flyers advertising upcoming campus events, begins by asking for volunteers to cover Thai Night, Philippine Americans League Barrio Fiesta, CIW Casino-in-the-Woods, the Theatre Department's production of Hamlet and several other campus events.

Jokes abound ("ÔThai Night' -- does that mean I have to wear a tie?") and students who attended annual events last year describe them for the benefit of other students. The mention of Hamlet elicits a one-upmanship in cutting remarks about the forlorn title character of the play -- but even the most brutal critics plan to attend. Any flyers that aren't handed out by the end of the meeting are assigned to those who haven't volunteered, so the process, though seemingly chaotic and certainly fun, is efficient.

They brainstorm ideas for a feature story. An assistant editor keeps track of who's covering which story. Riccio reminds writers to schedule time with him to look over their articles. "And if you find out something really cool, let me know; bring it in," he says.

At about 6:30, a high-energy Daniel Schwarz '06, staff writer (and opinion writer-elect), bursts through the door demanding, "Who wins, Superman or Jesus?" -- which readily jump-starts a half-serious/half-sardonic discussion. A wide range of topics evokes everything from light-hearted banter to serious discussion throughout the evening, including SARS and jokes about eczema and its many potential cures (cortisone, aloe, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice). Editor-in-chief Nicole Flatow '03 sits in on the meeting, proofreading copy and offering occasional comments. Riccio emphasizes the importance of being succinct and keeping within the word-count limit -- "Your reviews will be better," she adds. When Schwartz decides to take the story about a Cornell sex therapist who will be on campus to do an interactive tabling session and Q-and-A about what makes sexual taboos taboo, Flatow jokes -- in a big-sisterly way -- "You don't have to be experienced to write about sex."

Everyone is revved and ready for the all-nighter they pull routinely twice a week. By 8 p.m., the entire office suite is buzzing with philosophical discussions, story consultations, jokes, jibes and laughter. Underlying it all is the intense energy of people totally focused on their work. The deadline is approaching.

Student-run and operated

No doubt about it, Pipe Dream's student staff run the show. That's the way it is now, and that's the way it has been, going back to the paper's predecessor, The Colonial News. Students are responsible for every facet of publishing the paper twice a week -- planning and assigning content, editing, taking photographs, designing graphics, layout -- all the way to getting the computer file to the printer by 4 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. As former Pipe Dream editor Rob Kahn '92, now an entertainment reporter for Newsday, put it, "We did everything but deliver the paper to the classroom."

"We had no faculty input, which I believe is the way journalism should be passed on, as an apprenticeship," said Gerry Mullany '84, a journalist for The New York Times who started at Pipe Dream as an assistant news editor and "clawed his way up" to become editor-in-chief his senior year. "You get your knowledge from the more veteran members of the staff, and you make a bunch of mistakes along the way."

Although the newspaper has no formal adviser, editors often look to English Department lecturer Mary Haupt for advice. Haupt, who is also a columnist and copy editor for the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, teaches journalism, features writing and news editing. She helped design a training program for the student newspaper, but more than that, "She's the go-to person for questions," said Flatow. "She's available and she's supportive." Haupt also encourages students in her classes to submit pieces to Pipe Dream.

That's how Pipe Dream staff writer Shari Gold '05 -- who dubbed Haupt her "favorite prof" -- came on board. "I interviewed Baxter (the Bearcat) for my feature writing class and submitted it to the news section," she said. "That was my first news story."

"What I loved about Mary," said Kahn, who relied on her when he was at Pipe Dream and who stays in close contact with her now, "is that she's someone you could talk to. She's an extremely adept social animal."

Haupt acknowledges that she does occasionally get "late evening ethical-dilemma phone calls" from Pipe Dream students. The types of questions range from staffing issues and personality clashes to how to fill positions when graduating staff leave, and, on the reporting side, how far to pursue someone to get a comment ("Should I go as far as knocking on their front door?"). Haupt also credits Pipe Dream editors with adding richness to her class discussions because they "are dealing daily with some of the issues I teach," she said.

Left: Daniel Schwartz '06, staff writer and opinion writer-elect. Right: Nicole Sia '03 (left), 2002-03 news editor and fall 2003 editor-in-chief-elect, and Nicole Flatow, outgoing editor-in-chief, on the last day of classes

A fertile training ground for journalism careers

Every Pipe Dream and Colonial News graduate you talk to is quick to rattle off names of others who have gone on to illustrious careers in communications. Hands down, alumni who worked on the student-run newspaper attribute their start in journalism to the days -- or, rather, nights -- they spent writing, editing and producing it.

"All I ever wanted to do is write sports," said Tony Kornheiser '70, Washington Post humor columnist, co-host of ESPN TV's Pardon the Interruption and host of an ESPN radio show. "Colonial News gave me that chance. I covered intramural leagues, the basketball team, the soccer team . . . Where else would someone with no training get a chance to do that? They made a logo for me. It was completely and utterly intoxicating."

"I learned so much about typesetting that I made a career decision to go into print media," said Robin Zachary '82, art director of Bridal Guide magazine, who started at Pipe Dream as an ad designer and moved on to ad manager.

"When you look at the combination of what you get at Pipe Dream and the English Department, you've got a de facto J-school program at Binghamton," said Kahn. "I did five internships at BU -- including internships at the Press & Sun-Bulletin and at Newsday. And it snowballed from there; every step was bigger. Two days out of college, I got hired at the Stamford Advocate, in the middle of a recession. Then the Boston Herald, then Newsday. All those experiences had their beginning at Pipe Dream."

Haupt stresses the importance of internships to students who are serious about careers in journalism. "To get an internship, you need a clippings file," she tells them. "And one way to get a clippings file is to work at Pipe Dream. Those who want to be editors learn layout and editing working for Pipe Dream." The Press & Sun-Bulletin offers internships to as many as five students per semester.

The hard reality of regularly meeting deadlines also prepares students for careers in communications -- and informs them about the type of publication they may be best suited for.

"The stress at Pipe Dream made me hyper, hysterical, but served me well in my ultimate career in terms of meeting a deadline," said Kahn. "It's great basic training for journalism: You learn to overcome crises and be flexible."

Zachary, on the other hand, decided that a steady diet of tight deadlines wasn't for her. "I liked the spirit of working as a team, but I didn't want deadlines every day or week, so I went into magazines with a longer production cycle," she said.

"I owe a lot -- most -- to The Colonial News," said Kornheiser. "I can't say it enough. It was everything."

Pipe Dreamers gathered at the fountain on the last day of classes. Back row: Alice Hunt '04, Adam D. Perry '03, Matt Chayes '05. Front row: Nicole Flatow '03, Brian Wachsman '04 and Andrew Cohen '01, MS '03

Fulfillment, fun and family

Pipe Dream staffers put up to 40 hours a week on the paper. Why do they do it?

For Flatow, the work and long hours were balanced by the shared sense of belonging and purpose, the excitement of breaking a big news story -- plus the chance to talk to people she wouldn't ordinarily talk to.

"I liked Pipe Dream because of the whole routine of putting out a paper," said Mullany. "Amid all the work, you hang out and just gossip about people and develop really close bonds. It's like that at all papers. The worst part was also the best part: the late nights putting out the paper, when we'd work without sleep until 7 a.m. The nights were punctuated by food runs around 3 a.m., when we'd descend on supermarkets and buy the worst food imaginable, like aerosolized cheese food."

"Even when I was not working, I spent a lot of time there," said Zachary. "The atmosphere was always upbeat and social. I especially remember hanging out late at night."

"It was an intellectual challenge, developing feature stories, coming up with content," said Kahn. What he remembers most vividly, however, aren't the stories but the conversations and the intense, emotional experience of it all. "Put creative people together in a small room and you get a lot of forced intimacy that lends itself to building good friendships," he said. In fact, Zachary, Kahn and Mullany have stayed in close contact with Pipe Dream friends and say that's where some of their closest friendships formed.